


Fixing Mistakes

by Trace_Carter



Category: Code Geass
Genre: F/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-04-19 15:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14240088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trace_Carter/pseuds/Trace_Carter
Summary: As Lelouch closed his eyes and accepted his death, he wished that he could fix things, so Nunnally wouldn't have to cry. Fortunately for him, an all powerful entity owed him a favor. Second time's the charm...right?





	1. Chapter 1

'So this is my fate,' thought the Demon Emperor Lelouch as he lay in a puddle of his own blood while it flowed out of a stab wound in his chest, 'perhaps this is what I deserve.'

As his energy faded, he noticed that his sister, Nunnally, had taken his hand and stiffened in shock and horror.

'So you figured it out,' thought Lelouch as Nunnaly began to cry and begged him to stay with her, "Yes, I destroy worlds…and create them…anew."

As Lelouch's eyes began to close for their final time, he gazed at Nunnaly's face, 'My only regret, is that I can't go back and make sure you would never cry like this.'

" **Is that what you want?** " asked a voice that was filled with power and authority, " **Then I shall grant that wish, and repay my debt.** "

"He must not die!"

Lelouch's eyes snapped open and he found himself standing in a familiar ruined building in the Shinjuku Ghetto, watching as his companion and contractor CC took a bullet that was meant for him.

'Could it be?' thought the former Demon Emperor.

"Do you have any last words?" asked the soldier that had shot CC.

"Just one," said Lelouch as his Geass flared in his eye, " ** _Obey!_** "

"Yes your highness!" said the soldiers as they stood at attention.

"Now," said Lelouch, "disrobe and shoot yourselves, but do not get any blood on the clothes."

Once the soldiers were dead, Lelouch took a gun from one of them and waited. Just as expected, a Knightmare Frame arrived in the ruined building.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" asked the pilot.

"My name is Allen Spacer," said Lelouch, using the same story as the previous time, "My father is a duke. I require an escort out of the ghetto. My ID is in my pocket."

Just like last time, the cockpit opened and Villetta Nu emerged.

" ** _Obey!_** " said Lelouch as he activated his Geass.

'Should I follow the script?' thought Lelouch, 'it didn't go that well last time. I think I have an idea.'

"You will give me your Knightmare," said Lelouch, "then you will remain here for fifteen minutes before returning to your allies. You will not investigate this incident and if anyone instructs you too, you will pretend to and tell them you couldn't find any information."

"Yes your highness," said Villetta, "the code is XG21G2D4."

Lelouch climbed into the Sutherland and drove out of the building.

"So we begin again," said Lelouch.

xXRed QueenXx

Kallen Koizuki was having an interesting day. The last thing she remembered was seeing the death of Lelouch the Demon Emperor at the hands of Zero, and realizing the truth behind the events that were happening. The next thing she knew, she was back at the Shinjuku Ghetto incident piloting her old Glascow.

"What the hell is going on?" she exclaimed as she took down an enemy Sutherland with her slash harkens.

"The west entrance," said a familiar voice over the radio, "use the tracks to move to the west entrance."

Kallen smirked. It looked like time really had reset.

"Right," said Kallen as she jumped onto the railroad tracks.

"Pathetic Eleven," growled one of the enemy pilots, "all you do is run."

"Now," said the voice, "jump onto the train."

Kallen jumped and ended up on a passing train.

"You won't get away," growled an enemy pilot, "target that Glascow!"

Suddenly, one of the Sutherlands turned and opened fire on its comrades, giving Kallen a chance to take them out with her slash harkens.

"Friendly fire?" exclaimed one unit as the Sutherland fired on it forcing the pilot to eject.

"Thanks for that," said Kallen as she turned to see that the Sutherland that had saved her had vanished, 'Just like last time,' she thought.

"Kallen!" called Ohgi, the leader of the resistance cell that Kallen was a part of.

"He contacted you as well?" asked Kallen, though she knew the answer.

"Yeah," said Ohgi, "Yoshida's group should be arriving soon as well."

Soon the rest of the resistance group arrived and the radio activated again.

"Are you the one in charge?" asked the voice.

"Yes," said Ohgi.

"Then I present to you the contents of this train. Use them to secure your victory. If you wish to win however, you should follow my orders."

Kallen used her Knightmare to rip open the container and reveal numerous brand new Sutherland Knightmare Frames.

"What do you think Ohgi?" asked one of the resistance members.

"The guy seems legit," said another.

"Alright," said Ohgi, "what do you need us to do?"

"I will be giving you special codenames for this operation," said the voice, "woman in the Glascow, what is the status of your Energy filler?"

"About 15 minutes," said Kallen.

"Recharge it," said the voice, "your group will run decoy."

xXWhite KnightXx

Suzaku opened his eyes and winced from the bright light overhead. He wondered why he had a pain in his chest area and how he ended up on what felt like a hospital cot.

"So are we having a bad day?" asked a familiar voice.

Suzaku turned to see Loyd sitting next to his bed and realized that he wasn't wearing the mask of Zero or the uniform.

"Is something the matter?" asked Loyd as Suzaku looked around to see if he could find the uniform.

"You're lucky to be alive," said Cecile as she walked into the room, "this watch saved your life."

Suzaku looked and was shocked to see Cecile holding up his father's pocket watch.

'That watch, I lost it after the Shinjuku incident,' thought Suzaku, 'but that means…'

"Private Kururugi," said Loyd, "have you had any experience in piloting a Knightmare Frame?"

"Just a bit," said Suzaku, knowing where this was going, "but I thought Elevens couldn't become Knights?"

"Well," said Loyd, "I'm offering you the chance to pilot the only Knightmare of its kind. What do you say?"

"I'll do it," said Suzaku.

xXRed QueenXx

"Are you sure this isn't a trap," said Tamaki as he settled into the cockpit of a Sutherland, "the IFF beacons are disabled."

"Our enemies have the advantage," said Ohgi, "they have no need for traps. Let's move."

"P1, are you in position?" asked the voice over the radio.

"We are," said Ohgi, "what can we call you?"

"I can't give you my real name," said the voice, "now get ready, your enemies should be approaching. Shoot through the wall in t-23 seconds."

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Tamaki, "How can we trust you if we don't even know your name?"

"Let's get into positions," said Ohgi.

"You're actually listening to him?" exclaimed Tamaki.

"Three, two, one, FIRE!"

The Sutherlands fired at the wall, their bullets tearing through the concrete and taking out the enemy Knightmares that passed by.

"P1, P4, P7," said the voice, "move a hundred meters to the right and fire your harkens at 3 o'clock!"

xXGrey RookXx

"The enemy is moving towards G 28!" said an officer.

"Send Laslo's…I mean Glaubley's Squad!" yelled Bartley.

"Does this mean they have military weaponry?" said Prince Clovis.

"Sir Glaubey has ejected," said an officer, "his unit has been lost!"

"Change our codes," yelled Bartley, "they're intercepting our transmissions!"

"We've already done it four times!" exclaimed an officer.

"Do it again!" said Bartley.

"Good afternoon," said Loyd cheerily as he walked into the room.

"What is it?" growled Bartley, "We're in the middle of an operation!"

"I just thought I'd offer the services of the ASEEC's special weapon," said Loyd.

"Not now!" growled Clovis, "We're in the middle of an operation."

xXBlack KingXx

Lelouch smirked as he watched Clovis's forces frantically try to counter his maneuvers. He had had the resistance members head into the subway systems to get into position under the streets as the Brittanian Knightmare Frames approached.

"And with this, I call check," said Lelouch before instructing the resistance members to destroy the supports for the subway system, causing the road to cave in.

xXGrey RookXx

"Who the hell could be commanding them?" exclaimed Clovis, "He's better than Todoh even was. Loyd!"

"Yes, your highness?" asked Loyd.

"Can it win? Can your toy beat them?" asked Clovis.

Loyd smiled, "Your highness, the Lancelot will do more than that."

xXWhite KnightXx

"So did you read the manual?" asked Cecile as Suzaku boarded the Lancelot.

"Yup," said Suzaku, "cover to cover." It wasn't even a lie. He did read the manual, before he was sent back to the past.

"Impressive," said Cecile, "well, be careful out there."

"Don't worry about me," said Suzaku, "I'll end this."

Suzaku then launched from the hanger and into the battle zone.

xXBlack King/Red QueenXx

Lelouch watched all that was happening through the readout in his stolen Sutherland.

'If I'm not mistaken, then the Lancelot will be making its debut soon,' thought Lelouch, "All forces, prepare to fall back. Use the old tunnels to escape."

"What the hell?" exclaimed Tamaki over the radio, "We're winning!"

"The Britannian forces have deployed an experimental Knightmare Frame," said Lelouch, "it can easily outperform any other Knightmare frame currently in existence. You won't survive an encounter with it."

"Alright," said Kallen's voice, "let's get out of here."

"Are you kidding me, Kallen?" exclaimed Tamaki.

"This guy has delivered us a victory because we trusted him," said Kallen, "the least we can do is put our faith in him and trust that he knows what he's talking about."

"Alright," said Ohgi, "we're pulling out."

"Now then," said Lelouch as he turned off the radio, "time for my next objective."

xXWhite KnightXx

Suzaku was confused as he piloted the Lancelot around the ghettos. From his memories of the previous timeline, there should be more terrorists moving through the ghettos. He only ran into a few retreating Knightmare frames.

"What's going on?" Suzaku wondered to himself.

Suddenly, there was a broadcast over the radio.

"This is Clovis la Britannia, Third Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. I am ordering an immediate cease-fire! You are also to cease all destruction of buildings and property and treat all casualties, be they Britannian or Eleven, as equals. I shall allow no further fighting."

'Looks like Lelouch made his move,' thought Suzaku.

xXCheckmateXx

"Was that satisfactory?" asked Clovis, once he turned off the intercom.

"Very much so," said a man wearing a Britannian royal guard uniform that was pointing a gun to Clovis's head.

"So what now?" asked Clovis, "Do we sing a few songs, or play a game of chess?"

The figure let out a dark chuckle, "Of course not. You stink at chess."

The man pulled off his helmet and cast it aside to reveal the face of Lelouch.

"Lelouch!" exclaimed Clovis, "You're alive!"

"Obviously," said Lelouch, "now, ** _give me a copy of all data pertaining to Code-R, and delete the original files._** "

"Yes, of course," said Clovis as Lelouch's geass took over, "my ring has a microchip with all the data."

Lelouch then took the ring from Clovis's finger and pocketed it, "Now, dear brother. Any last requests?"

"Lelouch!" exclaimed Clovis in a panic, "You can't kill me! We're family!"

"You slaughtered helpless civilians," said Lelouch, "all to fix a mistake you made. The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed."

And with that, Lelouch pulled the trigger, ending the battle of the Shinjuku ghetto once again.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

xXBlack King and White BishopXx

After killing Clovis a second time, Lelouch had driven his stolen Sutherland home, after stopping by the warehouse to pick up CC of course. When he arrived at Ashford, he hid the stolen Sutherland and headed up to the living space that he shared with his sister, Nunnally. When he walked into their living space, he saw Nunnally sitting in her wheelchair watching the door…with her eyes open!

"Nunnally," exclaimed Lelouch, "your eyes!"

"Big brother," said Nunnally seriously, "what do the words Zero, Geass, Code, Ragnarok, and Requiem mean to you?"

To say Lelouch was shocked would be like saying Milly was only slightly perverted. How would his innocent little sister know of all these things? Unless…

"Were you brought back too?" asked Lelouch.

"Yes," said Nunnally, "why did you do it? Why the Requiem? Why did you have to die?"

By the end of her questions, the young princess was in tears and began sobbing into Lelouch's shirt.

"I'm sorry," said Lelouch, "I wanted to atone for my hand in Euphemia's death and the massacre of her dream of peace. I wanted to make the world a place that you dreamed of."

*slap*

Lelouch could only gape in shock. His sister, his innocent little sister, just slapped him across the face.

"What possessed you to make you think that I'd ever be happy in a world where you're dead?" cried Nunnally angrily.

"I'm sorry Nunnally," apologized Lelouch again, "I promise, this time, I'll do things right and make this world a place where you can smile."

"Just don't leave me this time," said Nunnally as she hugged her brother.

"I promise," said Lelouch.

"Lelouch," said Nunnally once the embrace was over, "is Clovis dead?"

"Yes," said Lelouch, "whatever the reasons may have been, he was slaughtering the innocent people of Japan just to cover up a mistake he made."

"I understand," said Nunnally, "but I don't want to be kept in the dark this time."

"Alright," said Lelouch.

The black prince walked to his room and wasn't surprised to see a certain green-haired witch sitting on his bed.

"Its good to see you awake again," said Lelouch.

"You seem to know a lot," said CC, "more than someone your age should."

"It's not easy to explain," said Lelouch.

"Try," said CC as she narrowed her eyes.

"Alright then," said Lelouch, "I'm a time traveler. This is my second time going through these events. The first time was filled with mistakes that eventually led to my death to ensure peace. As I died, I was suddenly brought back to the Shinjuku ghetto where it all began."

"…Suppose I choose to believe you," said CC, "how would anyone be able to travel to their past?"

"I'm not entirely certain," said Lelouch, "but from what I can figure, the collective unconsciousness of C's world decided to repay me for stopping my parents from using the Sword of Akasha to destroy it."

"So you know of your father's plan then," said CC.

"Yes," said Lelouch, "and I know of the truth behind my mother's death and your part in my father's plans."

"What are you going to do about it?" asked CC.

"I intend to stop him," said Lelouch, "and as long as you do not choose to side with him, I will let you be. Also, I promise that I will help you achieve your true wish."

CC was, for the first time in centuries, speechless. This boy was speaking with wisdom and knowledge that was far beyond his years. Somehow, she felt that she could believe in him and that he wasn't just being confident. Sighing, she laid down on the bed and decided to get some sleep.

xXRed Queen and Black KingXx

The next day found Kallen Koizuki, or Kallen Stadfeld as she was called in school, sitting in the shade eating her lunch. She was still trying to figure out why she was back in the past. She was about to get up to leave, when she saw a familiar figure walk up.

"Lelouch!" she exclaimed.

"I'm a bit surprised you recognized me, miss Stadfeld," said Lelouch as he walked up, "to my knowledge, we were never formally introduced."

"Ah," said Kallen as she tried to don her sickly persona again, "my friends mentioned you in passing."

"That makes sense," said Lelouch, "but I wanted to talk to you about your academics."

"Alright," said Kallen, "what about them?"

"Well," said Lelouch, "the school curriculum requires that each student join a club."

"So you came to recruit me to the Student Council?" asked Kallen.

"Correct," said Lelouch. He was surprised at how she was taking this as compared to the previous time around.

"Then lets go," said Kallen, "I expect that Milly and the others would be in on this too."

This made Lelouch freeze. She couldn't possibly know of that. There was only one way.

"Kallen," said Lelouch, "were you brought back as well?"

Kallen turned to face him, "Yeah."

"Perhaps we should continue this in private," said Lelouch, "meet me at my place after school."

"Alright," said Kallen, "well, should we face the prez's wrath?"

"Let's go," said Lelouch with a chuckle.

xXRed Queen and Black KingXx

"Welcome to our clubroom," said Lelouch as he led Kallen into the large ballroom where the rest of the club was crawling around.

"Oh, Lelouch," said Milly in surprise, "Nina lost some lab data and we're trying to find it."

"I think I see it over there," said Kallen as she pointed to a corner.

"Hey, she's right," said Rivalz, "thanks."

"You really saved us," said Shirley.

"So, Lelouch," said Milly with a crafty smile, "you sure work fast."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Lelouch innocently, "I went to talk to Miss Stadfeld about club possibilities, and she herself asked to join the student council."

"He's right," said Kallen softly, keeping with her sickly façade, "I heard things about it and thought it would be better than a sports club for me."

"Well then," said Milly, "welcome to the club, Miss Stadfeld. I'm the president, Milly. Also here is Rivalz, our secretary, and our other members, Shirly and Nina. You've already met our vice president, Lelouch."

"Its nice to meet all of you," said Kallen.

"Well, we were going to prepare some refreshments," said Milly, "but you caught us a bit off guard."

"Don't worry about it," said Kallen, "I'd prefer a quieter gathering."

xXOrange KnightXx

Jeremiah Gottwald was having a confusing day. The last thing he remembered was retreating with the Britannian forces as Lelouch's plan came to fruitarian with the death of the 'Demon Emperor.' The next thing he knew, he was in his office facing Villetta Nu and Kewell Soresi after the Shinjuku incident.

"Are you alright, lord Jeremiah?" asked Villetta.

"Yes," said Jeremiah as he shook his head to clear it, "yes of course. I just was distracted for a moment. Please continue."

"We were discussing what to do about Prince Clovis's death," said Villetta, "our interrogations of his generals and lieutenants have not yielded any answers."

"Perhaps we could take advantage of this situation to eliminate the Honorary Britannian program," said Kewell, "we know that an Honorary Britannian was present in the battle. Why not use him as a scapegoat?"

"It could work," said Villetta.

'I don't want to wrongly accuse Suzaku Kururugi this time,' thought Jeremiah, 'but this will give me a chance to meet up with Lord Lelouch again.' "I approve of this plan," said Jeremiah.

"Then lets begin," said Kewell.

xXWhite Bishop, Red Queen, and Black KingXx

"Nunnally, I'm home," said Lelouch as he walked in with Kallen.

"Welcome home, big brother," said Nunnally as Sayoko wheeled her forward, "and Kallen, its good to see you."

"Nunnally," exclaimed Kallen, "your eyes! You can see."

"Why yes," said Nunnally with a smile, "it seems to be a side effect of the trip."

"Sayoko," said Lelouch, "can you get some refreshments?"

"Yes, my lord," said Sayoko before walking out and leaving them alone.

"So the three of us here have been brought back to the beginning by some higher force," said Lelouch, "now we have a chance to change things for the better."

"About that," said Kallen, "I've been meaning to do something."

*slap*

Kallen slapped Lelouch hard across the face, leaving a large red mark on his cheek.

"I seem to be getting slapped a lot," mused Lelouch.

"It serves you right for the whole Zero Requiem," said Nunnally with a sigh.

"I am truly sorry for ending things that way," said Lelouch.

"Don't worry," said Kallen, "you'll make it up to me."

"ho-mph!?" was all Lelouch was able to get out before Kallen closed the distance between them and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

When the two of them separated to get some air, Nunnally chuckled a bit.

"I know the two of you have pent up frustrations, but can we focus on business before you two get a room?" she asked.

Both Lelouch and Kallen blushed at that and awkwardly fixed their uniforms.

"R-right," said Lelouch, "now, if everything follows the same script as last time, Suzaku will be accused of murdering Clovis. We can use that to introduce Zero once again."

"What about the Black Knights?" asked Kallen.

"I plan on bringing them back as well," said Lelouch, "but this time, I won't keep my geass a secret from them."

"Are you sure?" asked Kallen.

Lelouch nodded, "I want to avoid any problems that would arise if they found out about it on their own."

"That would be a problem," said Nunnally.

"So I'll call Ohgi and we'll meet in the same place as last time," said Kallen.

Lelouch nodded, "I'll see you there."

xXWhite KnightXx

Suzaku wasn't really having the best day. He had woken up that morning to several Britannian soldiers with their guns pointed at him. He was then forcibly escorted to a prison cell and thrown in.

'I should have expected this,' thought Suzaku, 'after all, this happened last time too.'

He lay back on the hard metal cot in the cell and sighed. At least this would give him a chance to talk to Lelouch again. Suzaku sighed and began to wonder if Lelouch wasn't wrong with how he was doing things. Sure, he caused the death of Euphie, but that wasn't completely his fault and could be prevented this time if Lelouch was warned.

'I promise, things will be better,' he thought.

xXRed Queen and Black PawnsXx

"So Kallen," said Ohgi, "what was it that guy told you?"

"He contacted me last night," said Kallen, "and told me to gather you guys and board the outbound train on loop line five."

"How can we be sure it isn't a trap?" asked Tamaki.

"We just have to put our faith in him," said Kallen.

"You seem awfully trusting," said Tamaki, "there something you not telling us?"

"Leave it alone Tamaki," said Ohgi, noticing that Kallen was about to slug her comrade.

"Whatever," said Tamaki, "lets just go."

The group boarded the train as it left the station. As they walked through the compartments, they noticed that all of the train's passengers were sitting still with a glazed look, not even paying them any attention.

"What's with these people?" said Ohgi.

"I see you've arrived," said Lelouch's voice over the intercom.

"Were you the guy from Shinjuku?" asked Tamaki.

"Why yes," said Lelouch's voice, "before we talk further, please take a pair of sunglasses from the case to your right and put them on. Now, please look to the right and tell me what you see."

"I see the Britannian city," said Ohgi, "a city built on the sacrifice of the Japanese."

"Now look to the right and tell me what you see," said Lelouch's voice.

"I see our city," said Ohgi, "a city sucked dry by the Britannians and left to rot."

"Good answer," said Lelouch, "now please move to the front of the train."

The resistance group walked to the front cabin in the train where a man wearing a black cloak with gold trim and a black mask that covered his head.

"Was it you who caused the cease fire?" asked Ohgi.

"Did you enjoy my tour of the settlement?" asked Lelouch, his voice distorted by the mask.

"Tour?" asked Ohgi.

"Cut the crap man," said Tamaki, "there's no way you were the one to order the cease fire."

"Shut up, Tamaki!" said Kallen, "What do you mean, 'tour'?"

"I wanted you to fully grasp the difference between them," said Lelouch.

"We know the difference," said Ohgi, "that's why we fight Britannia."

"Wrong!" said Lelouch as he turned around to face them, "Britannia will not fall to terrorism. It is nothing but a childish nuisance. To defeat Britannia, you must know your enemy. You do not simply fight the people, but the entire empire itself. You must take up your swords and fight for justice!"

"Oh come on!" protested Tamaki, "How can we trust you when you hide behind a crappy mask? If you want us to follow you, then lose the mask."

"There is a reason that I wear this mask," said Lelouch, "I am the bearer of an incredible power that is known a Geass. The ability that I have allows me to use order a person to follow a single command that they will be forced to follow to the best of their abilities. This ability requires eye contact, and as such, the glasses I gave you, and this mask, are meant to protect you."

The resistance members then scrambled to put on their glasses, Tamaki was still skeptical.

"How do we know you're not bullshitting us?" he asked.

"I will provide a simple demonstration," said Lelouch, " ** _King's Gambit._** "

The people in the train car stood to their feet and bowed to Lelouch.

"What did you do to them?" asked Ohgi.

"I simply ordered them to bow to me when they hear the command I just uttered," said Lelouch, "they will also ignore all outside influences until the end of the train ride."

"Does anyone else have this power?" asked Ohgi.

"Not precisely," said Lelouch, "the power doesn't manifest the same way twice. I know of two more people that hold an ability like mine. The Emperor, and the Knight of One. The Emperor has the ability to modify the memories of others, and he doesn't require eye contact. The Knight of One can see trajectories of objects, allowing him to predict the movements of his enemies."

"What do you want from us?" asked Ohgi.

"Have you heard of the arrest of Honorary Britannian, Suzaku Kururugi?" asked Lelouch.

"Yeah," said Ohgi, "he was arrested for murdering Prince Clovis."

"He is being framed," said Lelouch, "I plan to rescue him. This will be my debut, the debut of Zero."

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Lelouch watched through his Zero mask as the resistance members worked to refurbish a vehicle in a junkyard. The members were working hard to complete the project to the specifications that Zero had given them.

"You sure that this hunk of junk will be enough to change things?" asked Tamaki.

"Do not worry," said Lelouch, "this plan will not fail. In fact, this will be a chance to make a statement to the world."

"I hope you're right," muttered Ohgi.

"We're just about done," said Kallen as she walked up in a chauffer uniform.

"Alright then," said Lelouch, "lets begin the operation."

xXWhite Knight and Orange KnightXx

Jeremiah was looking over the precession that was leading Suzaku Kururugi to his sham of a court martial. He was mentally preparing himself for his next confrontation with Zero, or more precisely, Lelouch vi Britannia, the man he swore his loyalty to in the previous timeline. Jeremiah had instructed Kewell to

"Keep an eye out for anyone that might want to interrupt this proceeding," said Kewell from inside his Knightmare.

"Lord Kewell!" called out a guard.

"What is it?" asked Kewell.

"There's an unauthorized vehicle approaching," said the guard, "it's Prince Clovis's personal car!"

'So it begins,' thought, Kewell, "The Prince's car? Looks like we have a comedian. Let them through. All forces hold here."

Suzaku's was filled with nostalgia as he watched the familiar car drive up to the procession. When the car pulled to a stop, the familiar masked figure of Zero climbed onto the roof.

"Who are you to desecrate Prince Clovis's transport!" yelled Kewell, "Identify yourself."

"I," said Lelouch, pausing for dramatic effect, "am Zero."

"Zero?" said Villetta in confusion, "As in nothing?"

"I've seen enough," said Kewell as he pulled out his gun, "take off that mask."

"I would be careful where you aim that," said Lelouch as he pressed a button on a control, causing a flag on the car to burn away and reveal CC's capsule, "what if you miss?"

"Lord Jeremiah!" exclaimed Villetta, "That looks like…"

"Indeed," said Jeremiah, "that's quite the card he's played."

"I am holding a dead man's switch," said Lelouch, "should you kill me, this capsule will open. And I'm sure you know what that means."

"Fine," said Kewell, "what are your demands?"

"An exchange," said Lelouch, "this capsule, for Suzaku Kururugi."

"Impossible," said Kewell, "Kururugi is to stand trial for the murder of Prince Clovis."

"No," said Lelouch, "you are wrong. The one who murdered Clovis was not Kururugi. The man who killed Clovis…was myself!"

The reporters were in a frenzy from this newest piece of information. Standing before them was the man responsible for the death of a Britannian prince. They were scrambling to get a good angle with their cameras.

"For a single Eleven, you save the lives of countless Britannians," said Lelouch, "I find that to be an acceptable bargain. After all I wouldn't want the public to learn of Loki."

"What is he talking about?" asked a soldier.

"If you don't want it to go public," began Lelouch.

Lelouch leaned in and revealed his Geass sigil, " **you will do everything in your power to allow us to escape with Suzaku Kururugi.** "

"Yes sir," said Kewell, "release Suzaku Kururugi!"

"Are you insane Kewell?" exclaimed Villetta before moving to stop the release of Suzaku.

As her Knightmare approached the prisoner, it was taken down from several shots to her Landspinners and Factsphers, "Kewell what are you doing!?"

Kewell lowered his Sutherland's rifle, which was still smoking from shooting Villetta's Knightmare, "I said to release Kururugi."

Lelouch unbound Suzaku and led him to the other resistance members.

"Now," said Lelouch, "here's a parting gift."

Lelouch released his pressure on the trigger, causing the capsule to open and release colored smoke, causing several people to panic.

"Jeremiah!" yelled Villetta.

"Don't worry," said Jeremiah, "it's just colored smoke. The real gas would have already killed them. I'll pursue them on foot."

Jeremiah then drew his Sutherland rifle and emptied the clip into Kewell's unit, forcing it to eject its pilot to eject.

"Watch Kewell and make sure he doesn't try anything," he told Villetta, "use my Knightmare."

With that, Jeremiah ran off in the direction that he knew the resistance members had fled in, leaving Villetta to guard Kewell as he struggled against the soldiers that were restraining him.

xXWhite Knight, Red Queen, Black King, Black Pawns, and Orange KnightXx

"I didn't think Zero could do it," said Ohgi.

"I had faith in him," said Kallen.

"That was some hell of a bluff," said Tamaki.

"Yeah," said a terrorist, "to think he got Kewell to turn on his allies like that."

"Where is Zero?" asked another terrorist.

"He wanted to talk to Kururugi in private," said Ohgi.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the warehouse, Lelouch was talking to Suzaku, having removed the shock collar that impeded his speech.

"Looks like you were treated rather harshly, Private Kururugi," said Lelouch through his Zero mask.

"So you were the one who killed Clovis?" asked Suzaku.

"That is correct," said Lelouch.

"Why?" asked Suzaku.

"He was responsible for the slaughter of innocent lives," said Lelouch.

"What about the poison gas?" asked Suzaku.

"All that was inside the capsule was colored smoke," said Lelouch, "it was a simple bluff."

"I see," said Suzaku, "and I assume that you would want me to join you and your allies?"

"Why, yes," said Lelouch, 'That's odd, Suzaku didn't anticipate by offer last time.'

"First," said Suzaku, "why don't you take off the weird mask, Lelouch."

Suddenly, the pieces all fell into place once again.

"It's good to see you too, Suzaku," said Lelouch as he removed his mask.

"So who else was brought back?" asked Suzaku.

"So far, I only know of Kallen, and Nunnally," said Lelouch.

"I see," said Lelouch, "well, I should introduce the future Black Knights to their newest ally."

Lelouch placed his mask on his face and led Suzaku to the other members of the resistance.

"I would like to formally introduce you to our newest ally in this battle," said Lelouch, "Suzaku Kururugi has agreed to aid us in our fight against Britannia."

"One day, Britannia will fall and Japan will be free," said Suzaku, "this I pledge."

Suddenly, the door of the warehouse opened and Jeremiah walked in. The resistance members immediately pointed their weapons at him, but he simply placed his gun and sword on the ground and walked over to Lelouch.

"My lord," said Jeremiah, "I am here to pledge my life and loyalty to you as your Orange Knight."

"Orange?" asked Tamaki, "What is he talking about."

Lelouch simply smiled. It seemed yet another ally has come back to join him.

"Rise Jeremiah Gottwald," said Lelouch.

"What's going on, Zero?" asked Tamaki, "Why is he here? And what's this about Orange?"

"Orange is a secret plan that Zero devised," said Jeremiah, "it involves placing a mole deep within the ranks of the Britannians in order to gather information and intelligence from the military."

"So you're the mole?" asked Ohgi.

"Yes," said Jeremiah, "I am Zero's Orange Knight."

"Anyway," said Lelouch, "Suzaku should return to his court martial, to hide the fact that he has changed sides. Once that is over, he can formally resign from the Britannian military and join our ranks."

"Agreed," said Suzaku.

"Then I shall be leaving," said Lelouch, "I will contact you at a later date."

With that, Lelouch walked out of the warehouse.

xXWhite Knight and White RooksXx

After Suzaku's court martial, he met up with Lloyd and Cecile in the ASEE department. He had already submitted his forms for resignation from the military and just wanted to say goodbye to the two people that had believed in him.

"Suzaku!" said Cecile when she saw him walk into the room, "Is it true that you're resigning?"

"Yeah," said Suzaku, "I can't work for a system that will scapegoat an innocent man to further their ends."

"You're going to join that Zero character, aren't you?" said Lloyd.

"Wh-what?" exclaimed Suzaku, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't try to play innocent," said Lloyd, "we're not fools here."

"Are you going to turn me in?" asked Suzaku as he tensed for a fight.

"Well, that would be one option," said Lloyd, "though that would mean having to find someone new to pilot the Lancelot, and finding someone who could match your aptitude for the unit would be difficult."

Suzaku waited, wondering where the scientist was going with this.

And so we've come to a decision," said Lloyd, "Cecile and I are going to be joining you."

"Wait, what?" said Suzaku.

"You heard correctly," said Lloyd, "we intend to join Zero as Knightmare Frame technicians."

"You're serious?" said Suzaku.

"Yes," said Cecile, "we agree that the treatment you received was unjust and unfair. And Lloyd doesn't want to lose his precious devicer."

"Alright," said Suzaku, "I'll talk to Zero. Now, I'd best be going."

xXWhite Knight and Pink BishopXx

Suzaku was walking through a park carrying a bag with his belongings. He had just finished cleaning out his locker in the barracks and was thinking of calling Lelouch to inform him of Lloyd and Cecile's offer, but he felt like he was forgetting something.

"Out of the way, please. Look out below!"

Ah. Right.

Suzaku looked up and was able to react in time to catch a young woman with long pink hair wearing a white blouse and an orange dress.

"Are you alright?" asked Suzaku.

"I'm sorry," said the girl, "I wasn't aware anyone was down here until I had leapt."

"It's alright," said Suzaku, "I wasn't expecting a beautiful girl to come falling into my arms either."

The girl blushed lightly as Suzaku put her down.

"So why did you jump off of that wall?" asked Suzaku.

"Well," said the girl, "there are some bad guys that are chasing me. Would you be willing to help me escape?"

"It would be my pleasure," said Suzaku.

"Thank you," said the girl, "my name is…Euphie."

"It's nice to meet you," said Suzaku, "my name is…"

"Oh, I know who you are," said Euphie, "Private Suzaku Kururugi, son of former Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi."

"That's right," said Suzaku, "though I've resigned my military commission."

"You left the military?" asked Euphie in a surprised voice.

"Yeah," said Suzaku, "I couldn't take the bias and prejudice that I had to face."

"I'm really sorry," said Euphie.

"Don't be," said Suzaku with a light chuckle, "now I can focus on getting a normal education."

Suzaku turned to Euphie, but saw that she was playing with a familiar cat with an injured leg.

"Meow meow," said Euphie, "does I. kitty's paw hurt? Meow meow meow."

Suzaku chuckled with nostalgia as he walked over.

"Hey there," he said, reaching to pet the cat.

*chomp*

…only to have it bite down on his hand.

"Argh," said Suzaku in pain.

"Oh my," said Euphie.

Once Euphie had removed the cat from Suzaku's hand, she began to bandage it.

"It seems you have some trouble with cats," she said.

"I actually like cats," said Suzaku, "unfortunately, the feeling is not mutual."

"I think an unrequited love is the mark of a kind person," said Euphie.

"If that's true then you must have an unrequited love," Suzaku joked, causing the pinkette to blush, "but anyway, why did you lie earlier? There aren't bad people chasing you, are there?"

"Not really," said Euphie, "you're not mad, are you?"

"Of course not," said Suzaku, "I'm just glad I could spend time with a beautiful girl."

This caused Euphie to blush again and wonder if he was being sincere or if he was just this way around most women.

"Maybe I should be going," said Euphie.

"I had a wonderful time…Princess Euphemia," said Suzaku with a kind smile.

"How long did you know?" asked the now revealed princess.

"The whole time," said Suzaku, "there aren't many pink haired girls, and your name gave it away."

"I see," said Euphemia.

"It doesn't really change anything," said Suzaku, "you're still a kind person, and I'm glad to have been able to spend time with you."

"I liked it too," said Euphie, "I hope we can do it again later."

"I'd like that," said Suzaku.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Lelouch stared at the two Knightmare Engineers that stood before him. He was surprised when Suzaku called his secure phone and told him that there were some people that needed to meet the Black King.

Lelouch remembered that that was a code that the two of them had devised as the Zero Requiem drew closer to completion. The code was a way for them to safely meet up with their allies, so Lelouch donned his Zero costume and headed to the meeting place.

That was how Lelouch found himself in an old warehouse facing Lloyd and Cecile next to a large crate they brought with them.

"So you're the infamous Zero," said Lloyd, "the one that killed Prince Clovis."

"Yes," said Lelouch, "that was my doing. Suzaku informed me about your occupations. Tell me, what would two of Britannia's finest Knightmare specialists want with a know terrorist and enemy of Britannia?"

"Well," said Lloyd, "the Lancelot is all but useless without Suzaku to use it, meaning we can't get much data for new developments, so we decided to follow Suzaku's example and join you. It's for the purpose of science!"

"We also agree with Suzaku's assessment of the system," commented Cecile.

"I see," said Lelouch, "and what would you be able to contribute to our cause?"

Lloyd and Cecile smiled and the former pushed a button on a remote, causing the large crate to open and reveal a familiar Knightmare Frame.

"May I present, the Lancelot Eclipse!" said Lloyd as he gestured toward the Frame.

Inside the crate was a repainted version of the Lancelot. The white parts had been painted black, while the gold was left untouched, making it look similar to the Gawain.

"We took the original Lancelot with us and added some things to it after repainting it," said Lloyd, "we installed a special device that can jam Factsphere sensors that aren't shielded from the effect, essentially blinding the unshielded Knightmare's Factspheres. We also intend to add special weapons known as Master Vibration Swords and we added an ejection unit."

"And you are giving it to us?" asked Lelouch.

"Well, Suzaku is still going to be its pilot, but he does work for you," said Cecile.

"And with a decent budget and the right materials, we could begin development on some new Knightmares for your group," added Lloyd.

"What kind of budget would be needed to upgrade our current Sutherlands to perform at Sixth Generation status?" asked Lelouch.

"Well," said Cecile, "that wouldn't be easy. I'd estimate that, even with access to the proper materials, it would cost at least several thousand dollars."

"I can provide you with some materials and the money needed," said Lelouch, "if you can do it, I welcome you to our ranks."

"Are you sure that money won't be a problem?" asked Cecile.

"I have ways to gather funds that isn't technically illegal," said Lelouch, "so finances won't be an issue. I also have contacts that I can utilize to get you any supplies you need."

"Well," said Lloyd, "I think we made the right decision when we chose sides. We'll get started immediately."

"Just don't get carried away," said Lelouch, "I'm going to need my allies to be able to pilot them without problems."

"We'll do that," said Cecile.

'Things are definitely going better this time around,' thought Lelouch as he walked away from the headquarters, 'though I might need to find us a better hideout if things continue like this. We'll need someplace for the scientists to work and store the Knightmares.'

Lelouch sighed. There was a lot of work to do.

xXBlack King, Red Queen, and White KnightXx

The next day, Lelouch was sitting in class when the teacher walked in, saying that a new student would be joining the class. Lelouch smirked inwardly. He had talked with Milly and her grandfather, the two of them being knowledgeable of his roots and his time spent in Japan before the invasion, and had pulled some strings to allow Suzaku to enroll.

"Class," said the teacher, "I'd like to introduce a new student that will be joining us."

"Hi," said Suzaku, "I'm Suzaku Kururugi. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

The class began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Wasn't he the guy who killed Clovis?"

"No, that was Zero."

"Why is an Eleven at this school?"

"He's supposed to be an 'Honorary Britannian' now."

"Who's going to have to sit next to him?"

"I wouldn't want to. His filth might rub off on me."

Lelouch closed his eyes. He had expected this kind of reaction, but this time around, he would make an effort to help Suzaku.

"Sir," said Lelouch as he stood.

"Yes, Mr. Lamperouge?" asked the teacher.

"If it's alright, could Suzaku sit next to me?" Lelouch said, smiling at the hush that fell across the room, "We knew each other as children, so I hoped to help him acclimate to the school's environment."

"Ah," said the teacher, "I guess that would be alright. Mr. Kururugi, please take the seat next to Mr. Lamperouge."

"Yes sir," said Suzaku before walking to his seat.

"Alright," said the teacher, "today's lesson…"

Lelouch tuned out the lesson and made a subtle gesture by tugging his collar that signaled to Suzaku and to Kallen, whom he had educated in his sign language, to meet on the roof. The three of them, having lived through this lesson before, took light notes and, when the bell rang, headed to the roof of the building to chat.

"So is there any reason you called us?" asked Kallen as she dropped her sickly persona in favor of her real one.

"I'd like to arrange a meeting between all of us that have been brought back from the previous life," said Lelouch, "if I'm not mistaken, Cornelia will be arriving soon and we'll need to plan so that."

"Do you have any plans on how to avoid the fiasco at Saitama this time around?" asked Kallen.

"For one," said Lelouch, "I don't intend to so fully rely upon the Yamato Alliance," said Lelouch, "after their utter defeat and cowardice last time, I'm going to devise a plan that doesn't depend on their support."

"How will you fight Cornelia without the forces of the Yamato alliance?" asked Suzaku.

"Well," said Lelouch, "I think I'd rather talk about that when the we all meet up. I'll arrange something so the two of you should meet me at my place after school gets out. Around 7 or so would be best."

"Alright then," said Suzaku, "I'll see you then."

"See you later Lelouch," said Kallen before pecking Lelouch on the cheek and walking off.

Lelouch smiled and pulled out his phone to make a special call to Jeremiah.

xXWhite Knight, White Bishop, Red Queen, Black King, and Orange KnightXx

That evening, Lelouch had Sayoko prepare extra food and place settings in anticipation for the guests he was going to receive. He had already filled in Sayoko on the details involving his second chance, and she had promised to help however she could by ensuring Nunnally would remain safe and not be used as a bargaining chip.

"So Lelouch," said Nunnally, "you said you're inviting guests?"

"Yes," said Lelouch, "I'm having all our allies that have traveled back from the previous timeline come here so we can plan."

"Do you want me to leave?" asked Nunnally.

"No," said Lelouch with a smile, "you were brought back as well, and I think there are some people that would like to meet you."

"Who?" asked Nunnally.

"That would spoil the surprise," said Lelouch with a smile.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Allow me," said Sayoko as she moved to open the door.

"Thank you Sayoko," said Lelouch.

Sayoko opened the door to reveal Suzaku standing there.

"Sayoko," said Suzaku, "its good to see you again."

"I assume you were brought back to this timeline like Master Lelouch?" asked Sayoko.

"Yes," said Suzaku, "thank you for taking care of them."

"Thank you, Suzaku," said Sayoko, "would you like some tea?"

"Why thank you," said Suzaku as he walked in.

"Suzaku!" said Nunnally as she wheeled herself over to him and gave him a big hug.

"Nunnally," said Suzaku as he returned the embrace, "I'm so sorry for what happened last time and for the things I did."

"Its alright," said Nunnally, "I forgive you."

"So he gets a hug and I get a slap?" grumbled Lelouch as he walked in with a tray of food.

"He didn't commit assisted suicide just to make a world that he thought I would want," said Nunnally.

"Now now," said Suzaku, "lets not dig up the mistakes of the past."

"Thank you," said Lelouch.

There was another knock on the door and Sayoko opened it to reveal Kallen, her hair in its spiky style that she wears it in when she isn't hiding behind her sickly persona.

"Miss Kouzuki," said Sayoko in greeting.

"Hello, Miss Sayoko," said Kallen with a smile before walking in and giving Nunnally a hug.

"So we're waiting on one more person," said Suzaku.

"Someone else was brought back as well?" asked Nunnally.

As if on cue, there was another knock on the door that Sayoko moved to answer. When she opened the door, Jeremiah was seen standing there dressed in his normal uniform.

"Miss Shinozaki," said Jeremiah with a smile, "it is a pleasure to see you again. I would like to offer my thanks for taking care of Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally all of these years."

He ended his thanks by taking her hand and placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

"Oh," said Sayoko with a light blush, "it was no trouble at all."

Jeremiah smiled and walked into the room and knelt down in front of Nunnally's wheelchair.

"It's good to see you again, your highness. I'd like to apologize for anything that I did that caused you grief in the previous timeline," said Jeremiah.

"It's alright," said Nunnally, "as long as we focus on changing the future, the past doesn't matter."

"Now that we're all here," said Lelouch, "lets get down to business."

"Right," said Kallen, "you were going to tell us how you intend to beat Cornelia this time around."

Lelouch nodded, "Thanks to unexpected support from Lloyd and Cecile, we now have two skilled Knightmare designers on our side that are willing to upgrade our current Fifth Generation Sutherlands into Sixth Generation frames, as long as I provide them with finances and materials. Which brings me to my first point. Jeremiah, I'm going to need you to use your connections to secretly divert several shipments of Knightmare Frame materials to our current base."

"I think I can arrange that without too much trouble," said Jeremiah, "but what about the finances?"

"Let me guess," said Nunnally, "chess?"

"Exactly," said Lelouch, "the money I get from those games should easily be enough."

"So you think that just because we'll have better Knightmares, we'll beat her?" asked Kallen.

"No," said Lelouch, "just because my dear sister's forces will be limited to Gloucesters, doesn't mean that they won't be able to defeat us. Her troops are skilled in Knightmare Combat and know their units like the backs of their hands. With the exception of you and Suzaku, our group doesn't have pilots that can match them in Knightmare Frame Combat."

"So what's the plan then?" asked Suzaku.

"Cornelia is going to want to reenact the Shinjuku Ghetto massacre to try and draw Zero into a trap, if events go as they did last time around," said Lelouch, "only this time, we will be the ones leading her into a trap."

"How do you intend to do that?" asked Jeremiah.

"Cornelia may be the Goddess of Victory, but she is still a loving sister," said Lelouch, "all we have to do is appeal to that part of her."

"Do you mean sister Euphie?" asked Nunnally.

"No," said Lelouch, "I mean us."

That response got a violent response from the other three members of this meeting.

"Lelouch, you can't be serious!" said Kallen.

"Cornelia would take you to the Emperor and you know what that would mean!" said Suzaku.

"My Lord," said Jeremiah, "I cannot allow this."

"Quiet!" said Lelouch, "I do not intend to surrender to Cornelia. I do, however, intend to offer her a challenge. Her two best pilots, against my two best pilots. Should she win, I will give her information that will allow her to begin her search for her missing brother and sister. But should she fail, she will let us leave without consequence."

"Do you think she'll agree?" asked Kallen.

"Princess Cornelia is a woman of honor," said Jeremiah, "if she swears upon her honor to uphold her end of the bargain, then she will."

"Alright," said Lelouch, "lets get ready for the redo of the Saitama Ghetto battle."

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

xXPink Queen and Grey PawnsXx

Clovis's staff gathered around an airstrip as a private plane bearing the coat of arms of the Britannian royal family touched down. When the doors opened and the ramp descended, the members of the cabinet stood at attention as a woman wearing a dark red outfit with gold trim and a white mantle walked out. She had dark pink hair and indigo eyes that had a gaze sharp enough to split stone. This was Cornelia Li Britannia, the second princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, known as the Goddess of Victory and the Witch of Britannia.

"Princess Cornelia," said one of the nobles, "it is an honor to be in your presence."

"I'd like a report on the situation here," said Cornelia sternly.

"Yes your majesty," said the man, "the first order of business is a welcome banquet in your honor…"

*bang*

The man fell to the ground dead as Cornelia lowered her smoking pistol with a scowl on her face.

"Sloppy. Senile. Corrupt," spat Cornelia, "all of you disgust me. Now get out of my sight!"

The nobles scrambled away, not wanting to be the next one that the Princess took out her aggression on. Once they had left, a familiar pink haired teen ran up.

"Sister," said Euphemia happily.

"I heard what you did, Euphemia," sighed Cornelia, "you shouldn't be so reckless."

"I know," said Euphemia, "but sister…"

"And please try to be formal," said Cornelia, "you will address me as Viceroy here, Sub-Viceroy Euphemia."

"Yes Viceroy," said Euphemia.

"Now then," said Cornelia as the rest of her Knights disembarked from the plane, "I think I have a plan to deal with this new terrorist, Zero."

xXBlack King, Black Pawns, White Knight, White Rooks, and Red QueenXx

"So what did you want us to come down here for, Zero?" asked Ohgi as he stood in front of a large warehouse with the rest of the Black Knights.

"I brought you here to introduce you to some new allies that have joined our forces," said Lelouch.

Lelouch then punched a code into a keypad and the massive steel doors began to open, revealing a makeshift lab, with numerous Knightmare Frames in various states of development.

"What's this?" asked Ohgi.

"Ah, Zero," said Lloyd as he walked up, "are these your associates?"

"What's this Britannian doing here?" demanded Tamaki.

"Lloyd and his colleague here has decided to come over to our side and join our cause and offer their services as Knightmare Frame engineers," said Lelouch, "they are not our enemies. Now Lloyd, how goes the project?"

"Well," said Lloyd, "we weren't able to completely upgrade the Sutherlands to Sixth Generation status, but we have managed to enhance their performance above the standard Fifth Generation. Now, I give you: the Knightmare Frame Yomi!"

Lloyd and Cecile gestured to a completed Knightmare Frame that was colored jet black. It looked like a Sutherland, except it had a slightly more streamlined design and had Slash Harkens on the wrists and a sword sheathed on its back. It also had two additional Factspheres on the shoulders.

"It's the first Generation 5.1 Knightmare Frame in existence," said Lloyd, "at the moment, we only have one that is complete, but we can finish the others if you give us a few more weeks."

"Very impressive," said Lelouch, "Kallen, this first one will be yours. Make sure to go through the manual before our next operation."

"What  _is_  our next operation?" asked Ohgi.

"The Second Princess of Britannia has arrived in Japan to take over for her brother," said Lelouch, "unlike Clovis, she is a seasoned commander and a skilled Knightmare Frame Pilot with her personalized Gloucester."

"Wait," said Tamaki, "are you seriously intending for us to face the Goddess of Victory in combat?"

"Why yes," said Lelouch, "yes I am."

"Are you insane?" exclaimed Tamaki.

"Oh ye of little faith," said Lelouch, "I already have a plan in motion to deal with Cornelia's forces when the time comes. Simply put your faith in me as you did in Shinjuku."

"Alright," said Ohgi, "what do you need us to do?"

Lelouch smiled behind his mask. Oh how things would be different this time around.

xXPink Queen, Purple Knights and Purple PawnsXx

"Princess Cornelia," said a soldier, "the preparations are almost complete."

"Excellent," said Cornelia as she looked over at the Saitama Ghetto.

"Your highness," said one of the soldiers, "we thank you for giving us another chance to prove ourselves."

"You all are from the Shinjuku Ghetto battle?" said Cornelia, "Tell me, do you find these conditions similar?"

"Similar?" asked the man.

"To those in Shinjuku," said Cornelia, "from what I've seen, Zero has a flair for the dramatic. Therefore, I intend to replicate the Shinjuku Ghetto incident to draw him in."

"Princess," said a black haired man wearing a Knightmare Frame pilot's outfit and glasses, "the preparations are complete and we've alerted the media crews."

"Thank you Guilford," said Cornelia, "well Zero, your move."

xXBlack King and White BishopXx

Lelouch was in his room getting ready to leave when the broadcast aired on the television about Cornelia's attack on the Saitama Ghetto.

'It's beginning,' thought Lelouch.

"Big Brother," said Nunnally as she wheeled into the room, "I heard the broadcast. You're going to go and fight Sister Cornelia again."

"Yeah," said Lelouch, "it's that time again."

"Just promise me one thing," said Nunnally, "come back alive."

"I promise," said Lelouch before grabbing the case with his Zero outfit and walking out.

Once he left, Nunnally wheeled her chair around to face CC who was leaning in the doorway to their rooms.

"Miss CC," said Nunnally, "I have a request to make of you."

xXRed Queen, White Knight, Black Pawns, Black KingXx

"So Zero," said Ohgi as the resistance group looked over the layout of the Saitama Ghetto, "what's your plan this time?"

"It's simple really," said Lelouch, "Cornelia wishes to draw me into a trap by reenacting the Shinjuku Ghetto Massacre. I intend to take her trap and turn it against her."

"Alright," said Ohgi, "let's move out."

The resistance group boarded Sutherlands that Lelouch and Jeremiah had procured for their use in this battle and headed into the Ghetto.

Lelouch got into position and pulled out a chessboard, "Well, dear sister, let the game: begin."

Lelouch activated his Knightmare's display and began to give out orders.

"P2, R1, proceed to point B-27 and begin evacuation of civilians. P1, P5, proceed to point C-7 and do the same," said Lelouch, "Q1, N1, head to the J-7 and H-5 and begin your tasks."

"On it," said Kallen and Suzaku as they sped off in their Knightmares.

"Lets go," said Ohgi as the resistance moved to their designated points.

xXPink Queen, Purple Knights, Purple PawnsXx

"Your majesty," said Andreas Dalton, leader of the Glaston Knights, "Zero's forces have been sighted in the Ghetto."

"Then let us begin," said Cornelia, "commence the eradication of the ghetto."

"Yes Princess," said Dalton, "all units, commence the operation."

At that command, Cornelia's forces poured into the ghetto and began to attack the men, women, and children that lived there. The forces found it strange that there was a significantly smaller amount of people in the ghettos. Nevertheless, they did their jobs.

Suddenly, a group of soldiers spotted a movement, but when they activated their Factspheres to check it out, they found that the sensors were inoperative. Before they could radio in, their Knightmares were cleaved in two at the waist by a pair of swords and they were forced to eject. The last thing they saw was a black and gold Knightmare Frame speeding away.

xXRed QueenXx

Kallen drove her upgraded Sutherland through the streets of the ghetto. She liked the maneuverability of the new unit, but personally, she missed the Guren. She had painted the black unit red out of a personal preference though. She rounded a corner to see several enemy Gloucesters attacking a Japanese residence. With a growl, she raised her units rifle and fired a few rounds into the enemy units' arms, legs, and landspinners, disabling the units and forcing the pilots to eject.

"K1," said Kallen, "section H-5 is clear."

"Excellent," said Lelouch's voice over the radio, "proceed to section G-8."

"Alright," said Kallen before speeding off.

xXBlack KingXx

Lelouch smiled behind his mask as he watched his plan unfold smoothly. He had instructed Kallen and Suzaku to use hit and run tactics to take down the enemy forces that were entering the He drove his Sutherland to a part of the ghetto where soldiers were patrolling. On the way, he changed into the soldier's uniform he used to sneak into Clovis's base. When he arrived, he climbed out of the Knightmare and approached a lone soldier.

"Sergeant," said Lelouch, "I have an important item that must be given to Princess Cornelia.  **You will deliver this to the princess and tell her it is a message from Zero. You will have no recollection of this meeting and will not investigate it.** "

"Yes sir," said the soldier as he took the radio Lelouch was offering and rushed off.

'And now I call check,' thought Lelouch as he climbed back into his Sutherland and drove off, 'Your move sister dear.'

xXPink Queen, Purple KnightsXx

Cornelia was looking over the readouts on the displays with a frown on her face. Her troops were being picked off one by one by one in attacks that happened so fast they couldn't do anything.

"Zero seems to be a better tactician than I gave him credit for," growled Cornelia, "Guilford, prepare my Knightmare."

"Yes your majesty," said Guilford.

"Princess Cornelia!" said a soldier as he ran up holding a radio, "I have to give you this. It's a message from Zero."

"A message?" asked Cornelia, "How did you come by this?"

"I-I don't know?" said the soldier, "I was patrolling and then I realized that I had been given this."

*bang*

"Idiot," growled Cornelia as she lowered her smoking gun, "have that radio inspected for traps."

"My my Cornelia," said a distorted voice from the radio, "I never thought you'd actually shoot the messenger."

"Zero," growled Cornelia, "what do you want?"

"I would like to make a proposition," said the voice, "a way to end the battle with minimum casualties to both sides."

"I don't negotiate with terrorists," said Cornelia.

"Even when said terrorist has information on the wellbeing of your family?" asked the voice.

"What have you done with Euphemia?" asked Cornelia in a dangerous voice, "If you touch her…"

"I haven't done a thing to your sister," said the voice, "I was talking about your beloved siblings, Lelouch and Nunnally."

"What are you talking about?" growled Cornelia.

"Ah ah ah," taunted the voice, "you haven't even agreed to my proposition and already want the prize. But, I suppose that I could throw you a bone.  **They're alive**."

Those words caused the blood of the Goddess of Victory to freeze in her veins. The thought that her two lost siblings could actually be alive after all this time changed everything. If this terrorist knew something about their location, then she had to listen.

"What do you want?" asked Cornelia in a hollow voice.

"Princess Cornelia!" exclaimed Guilford.

"Shut up!" said Cornelia, "I need to know what he knows."

"That's more like it," said the voice, "now, the game is simple. A match between my two aces and your two best pilots. Should you defeat them, I will tell you everything that I know about your dear brother and sister before surrendering myself to your custody. If we win, then you will swear on your honor as the Second Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire to let us walk free and you will end the slaughter of the Japanese in the ghetto."

"Fine," said Cornelia, "I accept your terms."

"Then meet us at the center of the ghetto in half and hour," said the voice before the radio went dead.

"Guilford, Dalton," said Cornelia, "get your Knightmares and head to those coordinates. We can't lose this contest."

"Yes your majesty," said the two Knights.

'Zero,' thought Cornelia, 'I'll have that information. Your aces can't hope to beat my two Knights.'

xXPurple Knights, Red Queen, and White KnightXx

When Guilford and Dalton's Gloucesters pulled into the area where the contest would take place, they saw that two Knightmares were waiting for them. They were both sleeker than the normal mass produced models and didn't look like anything either of them had ever seen. One was colored black with gold highlights and the other was bright crimson.

"Who are you two?" asked Guilford.

"We are Zero's Knights," said Kallen, "I am Izanami."

"And I am Izanagi," said Suzaku.

"We will be your opponents," said Kallen.

"Alright then," said Dalton, "we will win this victory for Princess Cornelia."

"We'll see about that," said Suzaku.

The two purple Knightmares raised their lances and prepared to attack, causing the red and black Knightmares to ready their weapons. The red one raised its combat rifles and the black one drew two purple swords from sheaths on its back that began to glow with energy.

"Lets go," said Kallen.

Suzaku piloted the Lancelot Eclipse toward the two Gloucesters, attacking with its Master Vibration Swords and forcing the Gloucesters on the defensive. Dalton's Gloucester kicked the Lancelot Eclipse back, but was forced to dodge a barrage of gunfire from the Yomi's rifles. Guilford tried to attack with his Slash Harkens, but the Lancelot sliced through them with its MVS blades, allowing Kallen to damage his Fact Spheres with her rifles.

"You two are skilled," said Dalton.

"Of course," said Kallen, "what would you expect of Zero's Knights."

"Indeed," said Dalton, "but the Knights of Princess Cornelia won't be defeated so easily."

"Perhaps," said Suzaku from behind Dalton's unit, "but this is our victory."

Before Dalton could turn to defend himself, Suzaku slashed the back of the Gloucester, forcibly ejecting the cockpit by slicing most of it clean off. Guilford turned to help Dalton, but was defeated when Kallen emptied the clips of her rifles into his Knightmare, causing him to eject.

"Looks like we win," said Kallen.

"I can't believe it," said Guilford, "those Elevens beat us."

"First of all," said Kallen, "we are Japanese. Secondly, just because someone isn't Britannian, doesn't mean that they don't have skill."

"Zero," said Suzaku, "were you watching?"

xXCheckmateXx

"Indeed I was," said Lelouch into the radio, "now, I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain, Princess Cornelia."

Cornelia scowled at the radio, but she knew that she had made an arrangement and her honor as a princess of Britannia compelled her to uphold that deal.

"Fine," she growled, "all forces, pull out of the Ghetto. We have lost this day."

And thus, the battle of the Saitama Ghetto ended once more.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

xXPink QueenXx

Cornelia sat in her office in the Viceroy Compound with a troubled look on her face. It had been several days since the battle in the Saitama Ghetto and she couldn't get what Zero had said to her during their communication in the Saitama Ghetto incident.

" **They're alive.** "

Those two words were plaguing her every waking moment since she had returned to the compound. How could this terrorist, who claimed to have murdered Clovis, know anything of her supposedly dead brother and sister, but if he was telling the truth and they were actually alive, then she had to find them.

She sighed and pinched her brow in frustration, she needed to do something about this new development. Activating her desk computer, she began to pull up any information she could gather on Marianne vi Britannia and her death. As she went through the files, she found something that interested her.

Apparently, a certain member of the Pureblood Faction had previously worked as a member of Marianne's guard at Aries Villa at the time of the attack. Perhaps he would be willing to help her investigate things.

"Guilford," said Cornelia as she activated the intercom, "please get me Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald and bring him to my office."

"Yes your Highness," said Guilford before closing the link and going to find the Margrave.

xXOrange Knight and Pink QueenXx

Cornelia sat at her desk looking through several files when Jeremiah walked in.

"Ah Gottwald," said Cornelia, "glad to see you could make it."

"It is an honor, your highness," said Jeremiah, "what can I do for you?"

"I was reading your file," said Cornelia, "is it true that you served as a member of Empress Marianne's personal guard around the time of her death?"

"Yes," said Jeremiah with a somber look, "it is one of my greatest regrets."

"I understand," said Cornelia, "and I have a job for you that could help you to redeem yourself for that unfortunate incident."

This surprised Jeremiah, as none of this had happened the previous time around. Though to be honest, him being accused of being a traitor due to the Orange incident didn't help things.

"What must I do?" asked Jeremiah.

"I have recently received intelligence that suggests that Empress Marianne's two children may have survived the bombing of Area 11," Cornelia said as she steepled her fingers and watched Jeremiah's reactions, "I would like you to investigate this possibility and report to me what you find."

"It would be my honor to complete such a task," said Jeremiah, "but may I ask what your intentions would be if you actually find them alive and well?"

"To be honest," said Cornelia, "I am not completely sure as of yet. Part of me wants to take them back to the homeland where their family is, but another part of me wants to know why they've been in hiding for so long."

"I will do whatever I must to find the location of the princess and prince," said Jeremiah, "is there anything else that you would require of me, your highness?"

"I believe that will be all for now," said Cornelia.

Jeremiah bowed and left Cornelia's office before heading to a secure location, 'I have to inform Lelouch about this development. This is an interesting development.'

xXBlack King and White BishopXx

"Nunnally, I'm home," said Lelouch as he walked through the door of their home. He was carrying his Zero outfit in a suitcase and was ready for a calm dinner at home with his sister.

"Big Brother," said Nunnally as she wheeled into the room, "welcome home. How did everything go?"

"A lot better this time around," said Lelouch, "how was your day?"

"I have something to show you," said Nunnally, "can you tell me how you feel about Kallen?"

Abruptly, Lelouch straightened and his eyes glazed over. Unknown to him, a red ring formed around his irises as well.

"I love her deeply and hope that one day we can have a family after all of the trouble here is over and done with…why did I say that?" said Lelouch in confusion, "What did you do?"

Nunnally smiled and Lelouch saw that she had a crimson emblem in her right eye that resembles a bird in flight. It was the sigil of Geass. His little sister had a Geass!

"Nunnally," said Lelouch, "your eye!"

"Yes brother," said Nunnally as she shut off her power and her eye returned to normal, "I won't just sit on the sidelines this time, so I spoke to CC and was given this power. Now I have a Geass too. I have the power to force anyone to answer my questions honestly."

Lelouch was speechless and all he had the strength to do was drop the case containing his costume and fall onto the sofa in a sitting position.

"Don't look so surprised," said Nunnally, "I'm going to make sure that you don't die this time. Also, I promise not to tell Kallen what you just told me if you let me help."

Lelouch could only gape. His angelic little sister was blackmailing him! What had happened to the kind and innocent Nunnally that he knew.

"I assume we have an agreement then, big brother," said Nunnally with a sweet smile before wheeling herself out of the room.

"How…what….who…" stammered Lelouch.

"They grow up so fast," said a teasing voice from behind him.

Lelouch spun around to see CC standing in the doorway of his room, munching on a slice of pizza with a smug smirk on her face.

"You!" growled Lelouch.

"Yes, me," said CC nonchalantly, "what of it?"

"Why involve her, witch?" asked Lelouch, "What's you game?"

"Calm down," said CC, "you should respect your elders. And she came to me. I didn't approach her."

Lelouch was left sputtering in rage at that and was only interrupted when his phone began to ring, "WHAT?" he yelled into the mouthpiece.

"Um, my lord," said Jeremiah's voice, a bit caught off guard at Lelouch's aggravated voice, "is this a bad time?"

"Jeremiah," said Lelouch as he tried to regain his composure, something not helped by CC laughing her ass off in the background (damn witch), "what is it?"

"My lord," said Jeremiah, "I have important information that could impact your plans."

"Well, what is it?" asked Lelouch.

"Apparently, Princess Cornelia has taken the hint you gave her at Saitama to heart and has decided investigate your current status and whereabouts," said Jeremiah.

"I doubt she'll find anything," said Lelouch, "I left no indications that could lead her to Zero or our allies."

"Not Zero," said Jeremiah, "you."

"You mean…" said Lelouch.

"Yes," said Jeremiah, "she's decided to investigate the whereabouts of you and Princess Nunnally."

"I see," said Lelouch, "do you know who she has assigned to head this investigation?"

"As a matter of fact," said Jeremiah, "the Princess has assigned me to complete this task."

"That's a relief," said Lelouch, "but why are you calling then?"

"I wanted to know how you wished me to proceed," said Jeremiah.

"Hmm," thought Lelouch, "lets not give her too much just yet. Our debut at the Lake Kawaguchi Hotel is soon approaching and I don't want her to interfere."

"Will you want me at your side during the Black Knight's unveiling?" asked Jeremiah.

"Not just yet," said Lelouch, "I will still need someone on the inside during the event to ensure things go our way. I'll have Suzaku and Kallen with me."

"As you wish," said Jeremiah, "I will contact you with any developments."

Lelouch hung up the phone and sighed. So many things were happening making him feel a bit overwhelmed. He had expected Cornelia to try and seek him out, that was why he had hinted to her of his and Nunnally's status, but Nunnally wanting a more active role this time around resulting in her getting a Geass was not something that he could have planned for.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked CC with a smirk.

Lelouch scowled at the immortal witch that had caused him so much aggravation over his previous attempt to destroy Britannia. Last time, she had been able to push all of his buttons to annoy him and tick him off whenever she pleased, but this time, he had an edge.

"I'm not happy with you involving my sister in this," said Lelouch, "normally I wouldn't be able to do anything to make you behave…" he trailed off with a smirk worthy of the witch herself.

"But?" she asked, curious to know where she was going with this.

"You know," mused Lelouch, "it would be a shame if something happened and I would have to cancel all my credit cards. I also noticed your Cheese-kun plush hasn't arrived yet."

"You wouldn't," said CC with actual fear in her voice.

"I'll expect you to behave yourself," said Lelouch, "I will fulfill your true wish, but I have other things that need my attention as well. I promise, you will truly be happy…Cera."

CC's eyes widened and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks at the way he had said her name. It was like how one would speak to one they care about deeply.

"Of course," said CC, turning her head to hide the blush, "we made a contract and I expect you to fulfill it."

xXyellow, orange, and green, pawnsXx

The female Ashford Academy Student Counsil members, minus Nunnally and Kallen, were all sitting in a train compartment as they traveled to Lake Kawaguchi to spend a few nights at the hotel built there. They were eager for the trip, as it would be a great chance to relax and get away from all of their stress and work.

"I've never been outside the Settlement before," said Shirley, "I'm so excited."

"Though, you wish that Lelouch could be here too," teased Milly.

"What, No!" exclaimed Shirley in embarrassed denial.

"Though, come to think of it," said Milly, "our Vice-President has been spending a lot of time with Miss Stadfeld recently."

"I-I-I'm sure he's just been helping her out due to her being sickly," stammered Shirley.

"Oh?" teased Milly, "You're not worried that she'll steal away your precious Lulu?"

"But…that is…um," stammered Shirley as she blushed, causing Milly to laugh.

While they were joking around, Nina was looking around with concern. Milly noticed this and moved closer to give the resident genius a reassuring hug.

"Don't worry Nina," said Milly, "the security at the lake is top notch and there will be a lot of Britannian tourists there too."

"But…" began Nina.

"We'll be with you the whole time," said Milly, "so everything will be alright."

"Thank you," said Nina.

xXRed Queen, White Knight, Black King, and Black PawnsXx

Lelouch watched as the members of his little resistance group along with Suzaku arrive at the location he had arranged to meet them at. The members of the resistance group (minus Kallen of course) could only gape at the large vehicle that looked like something a one would take on a road trip, except outfitted with technology and features that only someone with a nobleman's fortune could afford.

"Zero," said Ohgi, "what is all this?"

"This is my gift to all of you," said Lelouch with a flourish, "this will serve as our headquarters."

"But this is…" said Ohgi, unable to find the right word for the incredible gift Zero had given them.

"I will give my comrades only the best," said Lelouch, "I have also arranged for some Knightmare Simulators to be set up at our production center. I want all of you to practice in them in prepare for future conflicts. Now, shall we go inside?"

Lelouch led them into the large vehicle and the resistance gaped at the expensive interior.

"Amazing," said one member, "there's even a second floor!"

"Hey, look!" said another, "we've got a Plasma Screen TV here too, and the couch is so comfy!"

"Zero," said Ohgi, "this is amazing. How did you get all of this?"

"There was a nobleman who I did business with," said Lelouch as he smirked behind his mask, "I asked for this from him and he gave it to me."

Kallen and Suzaku smirked, both of them knowing about Lelouch's gambling habits and how the nobles that he gambled with always ended up in debt.

"This is amazing," said Tamaki.

"In the box on the table are new uniforms for all of you as well," said Lelouch, "they will mark your new role, not as resistance members, but as Knights of Justice."

"Knights of Justice?" asked Ohgi.

"We will not gain the support we need simply by terrorizing the Britannian people," said Lelouch, "but by working to protect the innocent, we will gain the support of both Britannian and Japanese citizens alike."

"Are you certain about this Zero?" asked Ohgi.

Lelouch nodded, "I am. In fact, there is a situation going on right now that would be an excellent way for us to declare our intentions to the world. Kallen, if you would turn on he television."

Kallen inwardly smirked, knowing Lelouch's intentions. She turned the TV on and tuned the channel to a news station. The report showed an incident at the Lake Kawaguchi where the Japan Liberation Front had seized control of the hotel and taken all the people inside as hostages.

"Everyone," said Lelouch with a flourish of his cape, "prepare yourselves. We will show the people who we are and what we stand for! We will show the people that we are not simple terrorists that prey on the weak to achieve our goals! We will show them…The Black Knights!"

xXPurple Queen and Purple KnightsXx

Princess Cornelia was most definitely in a terrible mood. She had been called to the Lake Kawaguchi hotel when she found out that those idiots from the JLF had taken it hostage, but that wasn't the worst part of it. No, the worst part was the fact that Euphemia had been visiting the hotel that day and was among the hostages. If the JLF found that out, then all hell could break loose.

"Status," said Cornelia to Darlton and Guilford, "what is the current situation?"

"The JLF terrorists have sealed all the entrances and posted a group of modified Knightmares at the tunnel to the lower levels with some sort of Electro Magnetic Shrapnel Cannon," said Darlton, "all the Knightmares we sent down were decimated."

"Damnit," growled Cornelia, "our options are limited at the moment."

"It looks like you could use a hand, Princess Cornelia," said a voice.

Cornelia and her Knights whirled around to see Zero and several masked figures in similar black outfits.

"Zero," snarled Cornelia, "you have something to do with this. I should have known!"

"I'm afraid that you are mistaken," said Lelouch, "I am here on other business."

"And what would that be?" asked Darlton as he went for his gun.

"Stay your hand, Andreas Darlton," said Lelouch, "at the moment, our objectives coincide, so I propose a truce."

"A truce?" questioned Cornelia, "what brought this about?"

"I do not condone the actions made by the Japan Liberation Front," said Lelouch, "and I intend to rescue their hostages…including Euphemia."

"How do you know such things?" asked Cornelia angrily.

"I have my sources," said Lelouch, "and my forces are already in position to begin our operation, though if you arrest me here, it will make rescuing the people inside before the JLF discover a princess of Britannia among their hostages, rather difficult."

"What do you propose?" asked Cornelia while she inwardly thought, 'Maybe I can get more information on the whereabouts of Lady Marianne's children.'

Lelouch smiled behind his mask, "My Knight Izanagi is prepared to penetrate the building through the lower levels and destroy the supports, allowing my forces to retrieve the hostages in the confusion and escape."

"Are you certain it will work? What if the JLF begin to kill the hostages?" asked Cornelia.

"They won't risk losing their bargaining chip," said Lelouch as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Fine," said Cornelia, "but if this fails, then I'll have your head."

"Dully noted," said Lelouch before pulling out a comlink, "Izanagi, are you in positon?"

xXWhite Knight and Grey PawnsXx

"I'm all set, Zero," said Suzaku into his radio.

"Remember Suzaku," said Cecile over the link to the Black Knight R&D facility, "we enhanced the jammer so it will blind all systems on enemy Knightmares, and not just the Fact Spheres, but it now has a 60 second recharge time, so use it wisely."

"Got it, miss Cecile," said Suzaku, "Lancelot Eclipse: LAUNCHING!"

The black and gold Knightmare shot into the tunnel where the JLF's modified Knightmare weapon was waiting.

"Looks like another Knightmare is coming," said one JLF pilot, "ready the Raikou!"

"Cannon armed!" said another pilot, "Target in sights."

"Alright," said Suzaku, "activating Eclipse Jammer, now!"

"What's going on?" exclaimed one pilot as the jamming wave hit, "my readouts went dead!"

"Mine too," said another, "we can't fire the Raikou like this!"

Suzaku smiled in his Knightmare as he gunned the engine and shot forward, drawing the unit's MVS blades and using them to cut through the modified Knightmare Frames, separating them from the large cannon.

"Targets have been dealt with," said Suzaku, "preparing for Stage Two."

xXBlack King, Red Queen, Grey Pawns, and Pink BishopXx

"General Kusakabe!" exclaimed a JLF member as he ran into the conference room that the JLF had turned into a makeshift situation room, "We've just discovered someone unusual among the hostages."

"What is it?" asked Kusakabe.

"It's the Witch of Britannia's little sister, Princess Euphemia," said the Solder as the pink haired princess was forcibly pushed into the room.

"Interesting," said Kusakabe, "it seems we've gained a valuable bargaining chip."

"Sir!" said another soldier that rushed into the room, "you won't believe this! That Zero character, the one who killed Clovis and beat Cornelia, he's in the hotel and is requesting an audience."

"How did he get past the guards?" asked Kusakabe.

"I don't know, sir," said the soldier, "they don't recall him ever entering. It's like he just appeared out of nowhere."

"Escort him here," said Kusakabe, "I'll hear what he has to say."

It wasn't long before the masked figure of Zero was escorted into the makeshift situation room where Kusakabe was seated.

"Zero," said Kusakabe, "you really stirred up a show with the death of Clovis."

"You seem to be doing something similar here," said Lelouch.

"Indeed," said Kusakabe, "the only way for to get Britannia's attention is to make a bold statement such as this."

"That is where you are wrong," said Lelouch, "your actions here are only hurting the people of Japan in the long run. What will happen to the people if anything happens to the hostages or to Cornelia's sister? Undoubtedly the Viceroy will be enraged and will show the Japanese exactly why she is known as the Witch of Britannia and the Goddess of Victory."

"What are you saying?" said Kusakabe.

"You're methods are stale and ignorant," declared Lelouch, "you will never defeat Britannia with them."

"Insolent brat!" growled Kusakabe, "Japan will rise from the ashes of Britannia like the great Phoenix. I do not need lectures from one who doesn't even show his face."

"Very well then," said Lelouch as he faced Kusakabe and activated the shutter over his Geass, causing his eye to become exposed, " ** _I have no use for you. Now DIE!_** "

"Yes sir!" said Kusakabe before raising his pistol and ending his life.

Lelouch then Geassed the guards that ran in, causing them to kill themselves, before he walked into the room where Euphemia was being held.

"Zero!" exclaimed Euphemia.

"General Kusakabe and his guards committed suicide upon realizing the futility of their actions," said Lelouch, "as we speak, my forces are liberating the hostages from their captors. Always willing to sacrifice yourself to help the commoners, Euphemia Li Britannia, you haven't changed a bit."

"Eh?" said Euphie.

"Congratulations on becoming the Sub-Viceroy, your highness," said Lelouch.

"Zero," said Euphie firmly, "why did you kill my brother Clovis."

"Straight to the point," said Lelouch, "very well. Clovis had ordered the slaughter of the civilians in the Shinjuku Ghetto to cover up a dangerous mistake he had made. I ended his life to end the carnage taking place."

"Are you going to kill me?" asked Euphie.

"No," said Lelouch, "I would never hurt you. And I think you know that."

xXcheckmateXx

Cornelia watched as the Knightmare belonging to Zero's Knight destroyed the support foundations of the hotel, causing the building to collapse.

"Euphie!" cried Cornelia in horror.

"Your Highness!" exclaimed Darlton as he pointed to the water, "over there!"

Several life rafts were floating toward the shore with the hostages among them. Standing tall above them, Zero spread his arms.

"People of Japan and Britannia, HEAR ME! I am Zero! I have rescued the hostages from the corruption of the JLF and deliver them to you! We are the Black Knights!"

Kallen stepped up on Lelouch's left side wearing a white mask with a Yin symbol on it, while Suzaku rose on his right wearing a black mask with a Yang symbol. Lelouch spread his arms and continued his speech.

"We of the Black Knights stand with all those who cannot fight for themselves. Be they Japanese or Britannians, we will be their shield. The Japan Liberation Front took innocent lives hostage in a cowardly attempt to achieve their goals, and they have been punished for their actions. Just as Clovis was punished for the Shinjuku Ghetto massacre, we stepped forward to stop the actions of the JLF. The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed! Wherever oppressors abuse their power by attacking those who are powerless, we shall appear again. No matter how mighty, how formidable our foe may be."

Kallen then stepped forward, "Those of you with power, fear us."

Suzaku stepped forward and continued, "Those without it, rally behind us."

"We the Black Knights shall be the ones who stand in judgment of this world!" declared Lelouch.

'This Zero character,' thought Cornelia, 'what is he planning. And what does he know of Lelouch and Nunally? I need to know.'

 


	7. Chapter 7

xXBlack King and Red QueenXx

Lelouch sighed as he relaxed in his bed with a smile on his face. He glanced at the person sleeping next to him under the covers and tenderly ran his hand through her crimson hair.

"Good morning," said Kallen with a smile as she opened her eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Lelouch.

"Best night of my life," said Kallen, "who knew you had it in you, what with your pitiful PE grades."

"You weren't too bad yourself," said Lelouch, "it's nice to be able to relax once in a while."

"That's for sure," said Kallen, "especially since Narita is coming up."

"Speaking of which," said Lelouch, "how is your mother?"

"I spoke with her," said Kallen, "I told her I knew why she was staying and thanked her. I also told her not to use refrain to bring back the past, because we'll create a better future instead."

"Good," said Lelouch, "I still plan to hit the Refrain shipments though. Oh, and the Guren should arrive soon if things go according to the script."

"You always know just what to get a girl," said Kallen with a smile as she hugged Lelouch's arm.

"I try," said Lelouch, "though, we should get dressed. We have class soon."

"Lets be tardy today," smirked Kallen, "I can think of better things I want to do, my Demon Emperor."

"Then I'm happy to oblige, my Queen," said Lelouch before pulling Kallen into a deep kiss to begin round four.

xXPink Queen and Orange KnightXx

Princess Cornelia paced in her office as she thought about the Lake Kawaguchi incident. Who was Zero? How and what did he know about Lelouch and Nunnally? And what are his motives, why form the Black Knights? She needed answers.

Cornelia turned to the other occupant of the office, "Gottwald, what information have you gathered regarding the project I gave you?"

Jeremiah bowed and thought back to the information Lelouch had cleared him to reveal to Cornelia.

"Well Your Highness," said Jeremiah, "as you know, Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunally were sent to Area Eleven, when it was still called Japan, as political hostages. They were placed in the care of the Kururugi Shrine and were believed to have been killed when the shrine was bombed by Britannia, however their bodies were never found."

"What are you talking about?" asked Cornelia, "I saw their bodies myself!"

"That is odd," said Jeremiah, "I did some digging and discovered that there is no record of anyone matching either of their descriptions being reported as dead. Not just from the bombing either, no death certificate was signed or even made. The Prince and Princess are alive."

This struck Cornelia. If Jeremiah's information was to be trusted, then that meant that the Emperor himself had lied about their deaths, but to what end? Why lie to the nation that Nunnally and Lelouch were dead? What would that achieve?

"Jeremiah," said Cornelia, "I want you to investigate this further. Tell no one about what you have discovered."

"Yes Your Highness," said Jeremiah with a bow before leaving.

Cornelia frowned. If Jeremiah's information was to be trusted, then there was a conspiracy at work deep within the inner court of the royal family, and the Emperor was at the heart of it. She would need to do some digging of her own to see if any of this was true.

xXBlack Pawns, Red Queen, White Knight and Black KingXx

"This stuff is amazing!" said a new recruit to the Black Knights as the group looked at the new shipment from the Kyoto Group.

"Yeah," said another recruit, "those guys in Kyoto must be giving us their support."

"Are these Glassgows?" asked a recruit.

"Those are Burais, a Japanese modification," said the first soldier.

"Don't forget this thing," said a solder as he gazed at a crimson Knightmare Frame that stood in the center of the room.

"It's the Guren Mk2," said Kallen as she walked up with her Izanami mask off, "a Japanese designed Seventh Generation Knightmare Frame. My new Knightmare Frame."

"Wait," said Tamaki, "why does Kallen get the new toy?"

"Because," said Lelouch, as he walked up in his Zero outfit, mask and all, "she's one of my Knights, and out of everyone here, only Suzaku and her are skilled enough to bring out its full potential."

"So what's our next operation?" asked Ohgi.

"We're going hiking at Narita," said Lelouch, "We leave in two days."

"I should be going," said Suzaku, "I have a date."

"Don't let her sister catch you," teased Kallen, causing Suzaku to blush.

xXPurple Knights, Pink Queen, Pink Bishop, and Purple PawnsXx

Cornelia and her forces were at the Narita Mountains. Their mission was to eliminate the Japan Liberation Front cells located in the area.

"Sub-Viceroy Euphemia," said Cornelia, "you are to remain in the G1 command unit during this operation."

"But…" Euphemia began to protest.

"This is for your protection, Euphemia," said Cornelia in a kind but strict voice, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Alright," said Euphemia, "be safe, sister."

Cornelia turned and headed to her Knightmare, "Guilford, I want you to remain here to protect her."

"Yes your highness," said Guilford with a bow.

Cornelia nodded as a soldier came running up, "Princess Cornelia, we just received a report that the terrorist Zero and the Black Knights are aiding the Japan Liberation Front and are present as well."

"Excellent," said Cornelia, "we will be able to capture Zero as well."

"Capture?" asked Darlton.

"Yes," said Cornelia, "I want that man alive. Then I can extract everything he knows about Lelouch and Nunnally before I lock him away pending execution."

"As you wish," said Darlton.

"All forces," said Cornelia, "prepare to move out!"

xXRed Queen, Black King, White Knight, Black PawnsXx

"Did you hear?" asked a new member of the Black Knights, "Cornelia herself is heading this assault!"

"We're surrounded up here," said another soldier, "we can't take on the Witch of Britannia!"

"Have some faith in Zero!" said Tamaki, "He'll get us out of this!"

"Why are we drilling holes into the mountain though?" asked Ohgi, "What's the plan, Zero?"

Just like last time, Lelouch had instructed the Black Knights to drill into the groundwater deposits with excavator units. Since the plan worked last time, he figured it would work this time as well. This time though, he was more careful and intended to avoid the death of Shirley's father in the landslide. So, with a few well placed Geass commands, he had the town evacuated so that the only ones caught in the assault would be Cornelia's troops.

"I plan to fight Cornelia's soldiers with a force that they cannot hope to stop," said Zero, "the earth itself."

"What do you mean?" asked Ohgi, "What are you talking about?"

"Instead of explaining, I'll show you," said Zero, "Izanami, if you would?"

"Yes Zero," said Kallen from inside the Guren Mk2, "powering up Radiant Wave surger. Setting to penetrating electro number three."

Kallen stabbed the Guren Mk2's claw into the ground, releasing a surge of radiation that began to react with the groundwater deposits, starting a massive landslide that flowed toward Cornelia's approaching troops.

"As you see now," said Lelouch as he spread his arms in a grandiose fashion, "the land itself is against them. Can the Goddess of Victory defeat the earth itself?"

xXPink Queen, Purple Knights, and Purple PawnsXx

"Your highness!" exclaimed a soldier, "Somehow, Zero has caused a landslide that wiped out most of our troops."

"How many of our forces remain?" asked Cornelia.

"Several dozen," said Darlton, "and the enemy forces are advancing down the mountain!"

"Form ranks," said Cornelia, "and attack!"

xXPurple Knight, Purple Pawns, Pink Queen, White Knight, and Red QueenXx

The Britannian forces charged forward, fighting the Burais that the Black Knights were piloting. It was a pretty even match, with most of the Britannian forces using Sutherlands, but Cornelia and Darlton in their Gloucesters were tearing through the weaker Burai units.

"Show yourself, Zero!" yelled Cornelia over her unit's speakers.

Suddenly, the readouts on the Britannian Sutherlands went dead, leaving them blind, and two Knightmares, one black and one crimson, shot forward and began to quickly dispatch the Britannian Sutherlands before moving to face Darlton and Cornelia.

"You two," said Darlton, "you're Zero's knights, Izanagi and Izanami."

"That's right," said Suzaku, "we will be your opponents here."

"You won't defeat the Black Knights today," said Kallen.

Suzaku drew his MVS blades and Kallen charged her Radiant Wave surger claw and the Seventh Generation Knightmares charged at the Gloucesters of Cornelia and Darlton. The Britannians tried to attack the Knights of Zero, but their Fifth Generation Knightmares couldn't keep up with the speed and maneuverability of the Seventh Generation prototypes. Kallen slammed a punch into Darlton's unit with her claw and Suzaku slashed through the lance that Cornelia's Knightmare held. Suzaku then released the jamming field again, blinding the enemy Gloucesters, allowing Kallen to grab Darlton's unit and force him to eject by pumping radiation into it. Cornelia tried to eject as well, but her cockpit was caught by the Lancelot Eclipse's slash harkens and brought to the Black Knight Knightmares.

"You are our prisoner," said Kallen, "Izanagi, signal Zero. Our task has been accomplished. Let's pull out."

xXCheckmateXx

Cornelia was taken out of her Knightmare frame cockpit and thoroughly searched for hidden weapons before being escorted at gunpoint to a room that had been stripped bare except for a bed that was bolted to the ground. She paced around the room looking for something that she could use to escape, but the room had been stripped bare. She almost chuckled at the irony. She had wanted to capture Zero, but ended up being the one who was captured.

As she paced she heard the door unlock. She turned to face it as it opened to see Zero and the one called Izanagi standing there. Izanagi was holding a pistol leveled at her, so she refrained from trying to overpower them and escape.

"Cornelia li Britannia," said Lelouch, "second princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, current Viceroy of Area 11, the Witch of Britannia and the Goddess of Victory."

"Zero," spat Cornelia, "are you going to kill me like you killed my brother, Clovis? Or will your lapdog do it for you?"

"Before I answer that, I'm sure you have other questions," said Lelouch, "such as what exactly I know about your missing siblings, Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia?"

"What do you know about them?" demanded Cornelia, "If you have done anything to them…"

"They are completely safe," said Lelouch, "I would never hurt them."

"Where are they?" yelled Cornelia.

"Nunnally is safe in the settlement," said Lelouch as he raised a hand to his helmet, "As for your brother…"

Lelouch removed his helmet and pulled down the cloth covering his mouth.

"He's right in front of you."

 


	8. Chapter 8

xXBlack King, White Knight, and Ping QueenXx

"Lelouch?" exclaimed Cornelia, "Is it really you?"

"Indeed it is," said Lelouch, "it is good to see you again, Cornelia."

"But why?" demanded Cornelia, "Why are you Zero? Why did you kill Clovis?"

"I killed Clovis because he was performing inhuman experiments on a living human and ordered the mass slaughter of the Japanese in Shinjuku when he messed up and lost track of her," said Lelouch, "as for why I became Zero, I couldn't let the world know who I am, so I donned a mask and became the terrorist Zero."

"Are you going to kill me too?" asked Cornelia.

"No," said Lelouch, "but I will offer you a choice."

"What is it?" asked Cornelia.

"Join me," said Lelouch as he extended a hand toward Cornelia, "help me create a world that Nunnally can smile in. A world where our sisters do not have to fear war or politics. A world of equality."

"And if I refuse?" asked Cornelia.

"Then you will remain our prisoner," said Lelouch.

"Why are you doing all this?" asked Cornelia, "What happened to you?"

"My mother was shot and my sister was crippled," said Lelouch darkly, "and the Emperor didn't even care enough to investigate, and instead he sent us to Japan as political hostages and then bombed the country without caring to get us out first. That's what happened."

"I'm sorry," said Cornelia, "but why become a terrorist?"

"I'm not a terrorist," said Lelouch, "I'm a man that is fighting to free the world from the grip of the emperor so we can be at peace. I'm asking that you take up the fight as well."

"Do you hate us?" asked Cornelia.

At this Lelouch smiled warmly, "I could never hate you or Euphie," he said, "I only hate the man that forced me and Nunnally into exile and turned our new home into a warzone."

"Lelouch," said Cornelia, "is this why you hinted to me about your being alive?"

"Partially," said Lelouch, "you were my enemy at the time, so a distraction was useful."

At this Cornelia began to laugh, "You're as cunning and sneaky as ever Lelouch. Yes, I think I will stand by your side along with any of my forces that wish to follow me."

"Thank you," said Lelouch, "now there is one final thing."

"What is it?" asked Cornelia.

"I was given a power," said Lelouch, "it's called Geass and it manifests differently between people. My Geass, allows me to give a person a single absolute command that they cannot resist. I wish to use it on you."

"Why?" asked Cornelia suspiciously, "I thought we were allies."

"We are," said Lelouch, "but eventually, with continued use, I will lose the ability to deactivate this power. There have been…accidents in the past, and I want to prevent one such accident from happening to you."

"Alright," said Cornelia hesitantly, "I'll trust you."

Lelouch nodded and his left pupil morphed into a crimson sigil that resembled a bird in flight, "Cornelia li Britannia, I command you to  ** _forgive yourself for Marianne's death._** "

A red ring formed around Cornelia's irises before it faded away and she looked around.

"What did you do?" she asked Lelouch, "I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my soul."

"I freed you of the burdens of your past," said Lelouch as he replaced his mask, "now, I believe the Black Knights should know of our alliance."

"I do have one last question though," said Cornelia, "who were the masked ones who stood by you at the hotel and piloted those advanced Knightmares?"

"They are my aces," said Lelouch, "Izanagi and Izanami, named after the Shinto deities that helped give birth to the universe. They are two of my most trusted allies. Izanagi, if you would remove your mask."

Suzaku nodded and removed his mask, revealing his face.

"I should have known," said Cornelia with a smirk, "when you left the military and Zero got his hands on a Knightmare that resembled Lloyd's toy, not long after the Earl and his assistant themselves also left the Camelot team, I might add."

"Suzaku's family took care of me and my sister during our exile until the was started," said Lelouch, "as for Izanami. She's my girlfriend."

"So you two finally became an item, Lelouch?" teased Suzaku.

"Oh please," retorted Lelouch, "tell me now, what did it take for you to realize your feelings for Euphie?"

"Wait," said Cornelia as she glared at Suzaku, "you're dating Euphemia? You're the reason she's been sneaking away from her guards?"

Suzaku froze, "Um…maybe?"

Lelouch decided to intervene before things got ugly, "Alright, you can grill my Knight later. Right now, we have more important things to discuss."

"Later then," said Cornelia.

Suzaku nodded and replaced his mask and the three of them headed to where the rest of the Black Knights were waiting.

xXBlack Pawns, Red Queen, White Knight, and Black KingXx

"Everyone," said Lelouch as he and Suzaku walked into the room, "I have good news."

"What is it, Zero?" asked Kallen, wearing her Izanami mask to conceal her identity.

"I have spoken with Princess Cornelia and the two of us have come to an understanding," said Lelouch, "she has agreed to stand by our side as we fight for the freedom of Japan, along with any of her forces that will stand by her."

"You're kidding," said Tamaki, "you expect us to believe that you convinced the Witch of Britannia to join our side?

"Indeed I did," said Lelouch, "I was able to convince the Viceroy that our cause is a just and noble one, and she promised to rally whatever forces are willing to follow her to our side."

"How did you manage that?" asked Ohgi.

"That information is sensitive and must be kept on a need-to-know basis," said Lelouch, "I must ask you to trust me about this."

"Alright," said Ohgi, "we trust you, Zero."

"Thank you," said Lelouch, "this will be the beginning of Japan's rebirth."

xXBlack King, Black Pawns, White Knight, and Red QueenXx

After the meeting with the Black Knights, Lelouch released Cornelia and she made her way back to the Britannian forces. Not long after, the Japanese began to see their lives improve both in the ghettos and in the settlement. It was later that Lelouch received a message from Jeremiah. The message was that Cornelia had gathered her allies and wanted to speak with the Black Knights.

In order to reassure them that there was no trap involved, no double cross, and no treachery, Lelouch was allowed to pick the location of the meeting. Now the Black Knights were driving a van that Lelouch had 'acquired' for them and were heading to a warehouse in the ghettos. It was well away from Britannian patrols, so it would be difficult for Cornelia's forces to set up an ambush. Adding in the fact that it looked a lot like the warehouses around it, made it difficult to find without a specific address, which Lelouch would give Cornelia's forces upon the arrival of the Black Knights, making it hard for them to set up traps beforehand.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Zero?" asked Ohgi as Kallen drove the van to the location.

"I believe we can trust Cornelia," said Lelouch, "the two of us came to an accord when I spoke with her."

"How do we know that this won't turn into an ambush?" asked Tamaki.

"I have taken several precautions," said Lelouch, "and we still have several cards that we have yet to play in this round. Trust in me."

"We trust you," said Kallen.

"Izanagi," said Lelouch into a radio, "remain in position until given the signal."

xXPurple Knights, Pink Queen, Orange Knight, and Purple PawnsXx

"Your Highness," said Guilford, "are you sure that this is a good idea? Allying ourselves with this terrorist is treason."

"I have my reasons and they will be revealed soon enough," said Cornelia as she addressed the soldiers, "the important thing is that you trust me. I need all of you to stand by my side. All will be revealed to you and we will bring about a revolution that will change Britannia for the better."

"Your Highness," said Darlton, "the message has come."

"Let's move out then," said Cornelia.

xXKing's GambitXx

The Black Knights watched as the Military transport carrying Cornelia's party pulled up to the warehouse. Several soldiers and the Glaston Knights stepped out followed by Darlton. Finally, Guilford exited with Princess Cornelia.

"Princess Cornelia," said Lelouch, "it is good to see you again."

"Zero," said Cornelia, "thank you for agreeing to meet. I have brought my loyal troops to discuss the alliance that we spoke about."

"Hold on!" said Tamaki, "Are we going to just trust her? This could be a setup!"

"And how do we know all of you can be trusted?" demanded Darlton.

"Enough!" said Lelouch, "Tamaki, I know what I'm doing. And Andreas Darlton, do you not trust the judgment of Princess Cornelia?"

"Indeed," said Cornelia, "I trust Zero with my life. He will not betray us."

Darlton didn't respond, causing Cornelia to turn to Lelouch, "Zero, I trust these men with my life. You can show them."

"If you are sure then," said Lelouch as he reached up to his mask, "I was going to show the Black Knights anyway."

The Black Knights and the Britannian forces watched as Lelouch removed his mask and pulled the cloth down from over his mouth. The Black Knights, minus Kallen, could only stare in shock at the identity of their leader. They were shocked that the man that was doing so much for their country wasn't even Japanese, and was actually Britannian. The reaction of the Briannians shocked them even further.

"Prince Lelouch!" exclaimed Darlton, "You're alive!"

"Prince Lelouch," said Guilford, "you were Zero all this time?"

"Indeed," said Lelouch.

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Tamaki, "Not only is Zero a Britannian teen, but he's also a  _prince_!"

"That is correct, Tamaki," said Lelouch, "my name is Lelouch vi Britannia, 11th prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, and formerly the 17th heir to the throne. I relinquished those titles though, so please call me Lelouch Lamperouge."

"You've got to be kidding me!" said Tamaki.

"Shut up Tamaki," said Kallen.

"Kallen," said Ohgi, "did you know about this?"

"Of course," said Kallen, "it's only natural for me to know about my boyfriend."

"Wait, you're dating Zero?" exclaimed Tamaki.

"I believe I just said that," said Kallen, "now do us all a favor and shut your mouth."

"As you can see," said Lelouch, "there is valid reason for the forming of our alliance. I wish the destruction of Britannia's tyranny. Together, we can bring a new era, with Cornelia and I leading the way for a new government where all are equal and the number system is abolished. Are you with me?"

"I'm with you," said Kallen.

"We'll stand by your side," said Ohgi.

"I will fight by your side, dear brother," said Cornelia.

"We will support you, Prince Lelouch," said Darlton.

"Then it is decided," said Lelouch.

"By the way," said Cornelia, "where is your knight, Izanagi?"

Lelouch smirked, holding up a transmitter, "I had him positioned to watch out for a possible ambush, in case you wanted to capture me. Suzaku, all clear."

"Roger," said Suzaku and the Lancelot Eclipse drove out from one of the warhouses.

"Cunning as ever," said Cornelia, "now, let's talk business."

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Over the next few weeks, the people in living in both the Settlement and the Ghettos noticed a change in the Viceroy. It wasn't a bad change, but it made many people wonder what was going on. The Japanese living and working in the Ghettos and the Settlement quickly noticed a change in policies that was quite beneficial to them.

Suddenly, they were all being taken to specially set up medical stations to receive mandatory health checkups that were paid for, surprisingly, out of Cornelia's own pocket. While most were wary about this sudden change of heart, they had to admit it was better than having to deal with the viruses they caught from living in the filthy Ghettos without professional medical help.

Speaking of the ghettos, Cornelia also began a restoration project to fix up the dilapidated buildings that the Japanese were forced to live in when the Britannians took over. Several nobles objected to money being used to 'appease the filthy Elevens,' but Cornelia shut them up by pointing out that if the citizens were happy and healthy, then there would be less reason for the resistance groups to make terrorist strikes unless they wanted to gain bad press for attacking the ones who were helping their fellow numbers.

Let it not be said that the Britannians weren't being helped through these reforms as well. Thanks to Cornelia's efforts, crime and terrorism in the settlement were at an all time low. The Britannians were for once able to walk down the street at night without fearing that they would be jumped by an Eleven mugger.

Some questioned these new reforms, but they couldn't argue with the results that they produced. For the people living in Area 11, things were better than they had been in years. People were happy and healthy, crime rate was down, and both Britannians and Japanese were treated better.

Many wondered what had come over the Viceroy to cause her to implement such changes in policies. It was a simple answer, though not one that could be openly admitted, all of this was due to Cornelia's negotiations and planning with her newly reacquainted brother, Lelouch, who was also the terrorist leader, Zero.

Through their negotiations, Lelouch and Cornelia arranged to weaken the strength that the Emperor had over the nation of Japan by gaining the support of the people in the area, both Japanese and Britannia. Their eventual plan was to gain support for both their factions, until the time came that they would publically announce their alliance and take the fight straight to Britannia with all the forces and allies they had amassed.

xXWhite bishop, Red Queen, and Black KingXx

Lelouch sat with Nunnally and Kallen as they ate some breakfast, watching a report on the latest reforms that Cornelia had put through.

"I have to admit," said Kallen, "it's good to be fighting with the Witch of Britannia on our side this time."

"Remember that she  _is_ my sister," said Lelouch mock sternly.

"And she could be your sister too, if you play your cards right Kallen," teased Nunnally, causing both Lelouch and Kallen to blush and spit take.

Sure they both weren't secretive about the two of them becoming an item, but to be teased by  _Nunnally_  of all people about tying the knot was both surprising and more than a bit embarrassing.

"A-anyway," stammered Lelouch, "now that Cornelia is on our side, our popularity and our military might have grown by a great margin. With their help we can upgrade many of our Knightmares from the old Sutherlands we were using."

"I'll bet Lloyd is happy to have the Viceroy's resources backing him again," said Kallen.

"Was he always like that?" asked Nunnally.

"You'd have to ask Suzaku," said Lelouch, "he spent more time with him and Cecile."

"Maybe I will," said Nunnally.

"By the way," said Kallen, "Ohgi called. It seems Kyoto sent their 'love letter' again."

"They actually sent a love letter?" asked Nunnally with a giggle.

"No," sighed Lelouch, "it was merely a letter of invitation, though knowing Lady Kaguya, it might as well have been."

Kallen chuckled, "She  _was_  rather clingy."

They all shared a good laugh at that before the mood became serious again.

"So," said Kallen, "are you going to follow the same plan as last time?"

"To an extent," said Lelouch, "I plan to make some changes this time around. I do have more allies this time."

"That and the Black Knights know your identity," said Kallen.

"I'd like to meet up with Lady Kaguya again one day," mused Nunnally, "It's been a while since we talked."

"Well," said Kallen, "the meeting is set to happen in a few days, so I'll call Suzaku."

"Good," said Lelouch, "once you contact him, we can get ready."

"So you're going to rehearse your grandiose speech again?" asked Nunnally.

Lelouch chose not to dignify that question with a response.

xXPink Queen, Orange Knight, Pink BishopXx

Princess Cornelia was working in her office in the Viceroy building working through paperwork that involved the dealings with the restoration of the ghettos when Jeremiah walked in.

"If this isn't a bad time," said Jeremiah, "I would like to speak with you, Viceroy."

"Ah Jeremiah," said Cornelia as she looked up, "before you begin, I'd like to ask you a question."

"What is it, your highness?" asked Jeremiah.

"How long have you known that my brother was Zero?" asked Cornelia, looking the Margrave directly in the eye.

"I'm sorry?" said Jeremiah, confused about this sudden line of questioning.

"Not long after I send you on a covert mission to locate my siblings, you find information that throws their supposed deaths into question," said Cornelia as she got up and began to pace, "then, in Narita, Zero outmaneuvers us and captures me, revealing that he is in fact my long lost brother."

Cornelia stopped pacing and turned to face Jeremiah, "I'm no idiot," she said, "there are too many coincidences for this to be natural. Also, Villetta tells me that, during the Loki incident, you took off after the terrorists without your Knightmare and returned unharmed."

"My apologies, Princess Cornelia," said Jeremiah as he bowed, "but my duty was to Lady Marianne's children. I must redeem myself for failing to protect her."

"Rise Jeremiah," said Cornelia, "before meeting Zero, I would have had you in irons for this, but I now understand your intentions were noble. Now, what did you want to tell me?"

Before Jeremiah could answer, the door opened and Guilford walked in holding a pouting Princess Euphemia by the arm.

"Apologies your highness," said Guilford, "but the guards just caught Euphemia sneaking out of the base. I assumed you'd want to know about this."

"Thank you Guilford," sighed Cornelia, "please leave the sub-viceroy here and I will speak to her."

"As you wish," said Guilford before releasing Euphemia and leaving the room.

"Euphemia," began Cornelia tiredly.

"Why do you always treat me like a pampered child?" grumbled Euphemia, "I can take care of myself you know, and I'd like to have a life outside the base."

"I see," said Cornelia as she sat at her desk and steepled her fingers, "would this life include a certain Honorary Britannian that resigned from the army around the same time as Zero's debut? I understand you've been spending quite a bit of time with him. Is there something going on that I should know about?"

Euphemia's face had colored to a shade of pink that was darker and more vibrant than her hair and she was stammering incoherently in embarrassment. The sight of her sister acting like that caused the Viceroy to begin to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" pouted Euphemia as her blush subsided.

"Don't worry Euphie," said Cornelia, "I've already met Suzaku, and I think he is a good person for you to date. However, if he makes me an aunt, he'll have a talk with me and my Gloucester."

Euphemia blushed at the implication before she caught onto a part what her sister had said, "Wait, when did you meet Suzaku?"

"Oh, about the same time I met Zero," said Cornelia casually.

"You met Zero!" exclaimed Euphemia.

"Yes," said Cornelia, "I've been meaning to speak with you about it. Zero told me that our siblings, Lelouch and Nunnally are alive."

"But how?" asked Euphemia, "I mean, we were at their funeral."

"Trust me," said Cornelia, "Lelouch at least is very much alive. In fact, I was going to meet with him soon for a casual lunch in the settlement."

"May I come as well?" asked Euphemia.

"I think that would be alright," said Cornelia, "now Jeremiah, what news have you to bring to me?"

"Zero has contacted us," said Jeremiah, "apparently he has been called upon to meet with the Kyoto group and he want's us to attend due to our new alliance."

"I see," said Cornelia, "send a message to Zero. Tell him that we will agree to meet with them and the Kyoto group."

"Yes Viceroy," said Jeremiah before leaving.

"Sister," said Euphemia, "I want to come with you."

"Euphemia," sighed Cornelia.

"I'm not a child anymore," said Euphemia, "I can take care of myself and I want to be there when you meet with Zero."

"I can't allow that," said Cornelia, raising her hand to stop her sister before she could protest, "I need you safe here in case something happens to me. One of us needs to be able to take care of the business in the settlement and the ghettos. I know you aren't a child, which is why I'm trusting you with this. Can I count on you, sub-viceroy Euphemia?"

"I will do my best," said Euphemia.

"That is all I ask," said Cornelia.

xXBlack Pawns, Red Queen, Black King, White KnightXx

The Black Knights were currently riding in a limo with blacked out windows as they headed to their meeting with the Kyoto group. The limo was to preserve the secrecy and security that the group had, though three people riding in the car knew exactly where they were headed.

"This is taking too long," grumbled Tamaki, "when do we get there?"

"Is it possible for you to shut up for at least ten minutes?" sighed Kallen as she adjusted her mask, "Or is talking your mouth off how you breathe."

The rest of the Black Knights had a good laugh at Tamaki's sputtering red face as he tried and failed to come up with a retort to Kallen's jibe. Before the loudmouth of the Black Knights could respond, the car stopped and a man wearing a black suit and mirrored sunglasses opened the door.

"I apologize for the wait," said the man, "the master will see you now."

The man led them to an elevator that carried the Black Knights to a large room with windows that looked out over Mt Fuji and its Sakuradite mines.

"Impossible," said Tamaki, "we can't be out this far. There's just no way!"

"This is the Fuji mines," said Ohgi, "to think the Kyoto group extends this far."

"It's repulsive," said a powerful voice from behind the group.

The Black Knights turned around as the windows became opaque and saw several armed men in suits standing around a throne of sorts that was shrouded by a veil.

"Mt. Fuji," said the man, "once a sacred mountain known for it's clear water and quiet beauty, now it has become a hideous symbol of our oppression, bent by the will of Britannia. It pains me so. I apologize for concealing my face, however, Zero and your two associates also wear masks. I'm afraid I cannot allow that. You will reveal your face."

"Before we continue," said Lelouch, "another acquaintance of mine will be joining us shortly. I ask that you do not draw your weapons, as she is my trusted ally. Make an enemy of her, and you become mine as well."

"We will take that under consideration," said the man, "now, remove your masks."

Kallen and Suzaku reached up and removed the black and white masks from their faces. Upon seeing Suzaku's face, the man behind the veil chuckled.

"Suzaku Kururugi, it has been a while."

"Yes," said Suzaku, "it has been some time."

"Indeed," said the man, "now, Zero. Remove your mask."

"As you wish, Taizo Kirihara," said Lelouch as he reached up to remove his mask, causing the soldiers to tense.

As Lelouch's mask came off his face, the guards reacted to his obvious Britannian heritage by moving to draw their weapons, causing Suzaku and Kallen to react in kind and draw weapons of their own and point them at the guards in a standoff.

"Even if you are Zero," said the first guard, "we cannot allow you to leave here knowing our leader's name."

"Especially if you are a Britannian!" said the second guard.

"One move and you're dead," said Kallen, not lowering her gun.

"Enough!" bellowed Kirihara from behind the veil as he slammed his cane on the floor, "Lower your weapons. This boy is no threat."

The guards lowered their weapons and Lelouch stepped forward, "Lord Kirihara, it is good to see you again."

"Heh," laughed Kirihara, "thinking back to when that family received you and your sister, I never would have guessed that you would end up here fighting your homeland."

"I do not consider Britannia my home," said Lelouch, "Japan has been more of a home to me than Britannia ever was."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said a female voice, causing the group to turn and see several figures wearing black jumpsuits and helmets walking in. One being a female, and the other three being male, "I did try to make you and your sister feel like family."

"Lord Kirihara," said Lelouch, "I would like to introduce you to my new allies in my campaign to defeat Britannia's empire, Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia, her knights, Andreas Darlton and Gilbert G.P. Guilford and my Knight of Orange, Jeremiah Gottwald."

At that, the figures removed their helmets to reveal Cornelia, Jeremiah, Darlton, and Guilford. This caused a stir among the guards, but while they couldn't move due to the guns that Suzaku and Kallen had pointed at them, the several Burais that rolled out of the shadows pointed their weapons at the Viceroy.

"Hold your fire, all of you," said Kirihara.

"Lord Kirihara," protested a guard, "this boy has brought the Witch of Britannia to our stronghold! They cannot be allowed to survive."

"I trust him," said Kirihara, "the boy and I have a history, and I understand why the Second Princess would ally with him. The reforms that she has been putting into play make a lot more sense now as well. Lower your weapons and stand down."

The guards lowered their guns and Cornelia stepped forward with her entourage and they bowed respectively to Kirihara.

"Lord Kirihara," said Cornelia, "I understand your men's reaction. All I can say is that I will do what I can to ensure the return of Japan's sovereignty into the hands of the Japanese. I promise to return to you what Britannia and the Viceroys before me have stripped from your land."

"You truly have powerful allies, Zero," said Kirihara before he laughed, "the seedling planted all those years ago has finally born fruit. Tell me Lelouch, do you intend to walk the path of blood?"

"Do I intend to?" said Lelouch as he replaced his mask, "Lord Kirihara, I have already walked it, and shall do so again."

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

xXSilver KingXx

It was late in the evening in the Britannian Settlement when a boat pulled into the docks and a man with long silver hair walked off wearing a dark coat, headphones, and sunglasses. As he looked out at the city, dyed amber gold by the light of the setting sun, he allowed a sinister grin to spread over his face as he closed his eyes behind his glasses and  _listened_.

' _Be sure to come home on time…_ '

' _I wonder what's for dinner…_ '

' _Okay, calm down and ask him…_ '

' _I swear CC sometimes dies this on purpose…_ '

Smirking as he heard that last one, the man lowered his glasses slightly, revealing eyes emblazoned with the sigil of Geass on them, and began to walk into the Britannian City.

"Soon," he said, "soon we will be together again, my beloved CC."

xXOrange Pawn, White Bishop and Silver KingXx

While normally shopping for groceries at night was something Shirley would normally do, even if she remained in the Settlement, but with the decrease in crime due to Cornelia's reforms and the Black Knights' interference, Nunnally had insisted Shirley accompany her to buy ingredients for a special meal for her brother. And so here they were, walking through the streets as they headed back to Ashford, Nunnally carrying the bags in her lap as Shirley wheeled her along.

"Thank you for going shopping with me, Shirley," said Nunnally, "It makes things a lot easier."

"Anytime Nunnally," said Shirley as she tried to hide her nervousness.

As the two of them wheeled along, they were stopped by a man's voice calling out to them.

"My my, it is quite the late hour for two ladies to be out alone."

Nunnally froze upon hearing that voice, as she had only heard it once, in the previous timeline, when that strange man had kidnapped her to get to Lelouch.

"Well now," said the man as he stepped into view his kind tone now edging into something more sinister, "I must say I'm shocked. You know of me, and yet, while you remember meeting me, I've never seen you before."

"Leave us alone," said Shirley, "come on Nunnally, let's head back to the campus."

"Oh she hasn't told you," laughed the man as he clapped his hands, "well now this is going to be fun."

"I know it's me you want," said Nunnally, "so let Shirley go and…"

"…you'll come quietly?" finished the man, "Hardly. I know you have some way of contacting that brother of yours, and I know all of your little secrets. So, here's how it will work. The two of you will come with me, no questions asked, and I won't decide to kill you to bring your brother to me."

"Who are you?" asked Shirley, "What do you want with Lulu?"

"My name is Mao," said the man with a smirk, "and your 'Lulu' has with him the one person that I want the most. I want her back."

xXBlack King and Red QueenXx

Lelouch and Kallen were enjoying a romantic evening in the former's room complete with a candlelit dinner and Sayoko distracting CC with a night at an all you can eat Pizza event so the happy couple wouldn't be interrupted.

"This was a wonderful surprise Lelouch," said Kallen as she sipped sparkling water from a crystal flute, "how did you manage to set all this up?"

"It wasn't that hard," said Lelouch, "I just had to cash in a few gambling debts to get the food and the dishes, and arranged things with Sayoko, Jeremiah, and Nunnally so that we'd get some time alone."

"Well this is certainly worth all of the effort," said Kallen as she raised her glass, "kanpai."

"Kanpai," nodded Lelouch as they clinked their cups together.

"So what's on the menu tonight, Lelouch?" asked Kallen.

"Well," said Lelouch, "I decided to try my hand at preparing some curry for tonight, as I remember how all the Black Knights seemed to enjoy when it was served in the mess hall."

"Well what do you expect," said Kallen, "Curry is the dish that brings warmth to the heart."

Lelouch chuckled and was about to serve the two of them, when his cellphone suddenly began to ring. Recognizing Nunnally's ringtone, Lelouch put his ladle down and answered the mobile, "Hello, Nunna?"

"Ah, Lelouch," said Mao's voice, causing the Black Prince's blood to turn to ice, "I'm sure you remember me?"

"Mao," growled Lelouch in a voice filled with more venom and hate than Kallen had ever heard in it.

"Oh good," said Mao, "you do remember. Now I'm sure you can figure this out considering you and your sister have lived through this timeline already, so I'll make this simple. You'll bring CC to me at the Clovisland amusement park. Come alone. If you bring backup, and I'll know if you do, I'll kill the girls. Starting with your little sister."

The line beeped and went dead, leaving Lelouch holding the phone in his hand as his brain tried to process all of this. Mao was here. He had Nunnally and possibly Shirley too.

"Lelouch," said Kallen as she got up, "are you alright? What's going on?"

*CRACK*

Kallen blinked in shock as the phone was partially crushed due to Lelouch gripping it so tight in his hand.

"I'm going to kill him," Lelouch snarled as he threw the broken phone to the ground, "Kallen, I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel tonight. Something important just came up."

"Nunnally's in trouble, isn't she?" said Kallen, "I want to help."

"I need you to call Sayoko and have her bring CC to me," said Lelouch as he walked over to a couch and pulled out a pistol from a secure hiding place behind the upholstery. Checking that the magazine was full he strapped it to a device under his sleeve that would both hide it and allow him to draw it with ease before he turned to Kallen, "I have a plan, but I'm going to need that Witch's help."

"I'll call Sayoko," said Kallen as she pulled out her phone and dialed the Kunoichi Maid's number.

xXOrange Pawn, White Bishop and Silver KingXx

"Shirley I'm really sorry you got pulled into this," said Nunnally as the two girls sat tied back to back against a pillar in an abandoned shed in Clovisland.

"What's going on Nunnally?" asked Shirley, "Who is this guy? Why does he want Lelouch?"

"The answer for that is simple," said Mao as he walked in, "her brother is keeping my beloved CC from me, and I want him to stop."

"You know you'll never get away with this," said Nunnally as she glared at Mao, "once the others find out what you've done, there won't be a safe place left on the earth for you."

"Oh?" laughed Mao as he clapped his hands, "Whomever could you mean? Do you mean your brother Lelouch? Or perhaps your sisters, Cornelia and Euphemia?"

"Sisters?" exclaimed Shirley in surprise.

"Oh right," said Mao, "you didn't know the lies they've been telling you. Well let me enlighten you. Your  _precious_  Lulu is actually Lelouch vi Britannia, the former Eleventh Prince of Britannia."

"Lelouch is a prince?" gasped Shirley.

"And not only that," laughed Mao, "but he is also the terrorist Zero!"

"He's not a terrorist!" yelled Nunnally, causing the older man to turn to her.

"Oh?" sneered Mao, "Then what would you call a man that fights against the government with hopes to overthrow its rule?"

Nunnally looked the man directly in the eyes and said firmly, "A revolutionary."

Mao matched her gaze as she glared into his Geass emblazoned eyes with her violet ones, before a grin broke out over his face.

"Sounds like fun."

 


	11. Chapter 11

xXOrange Pawn, White Bishop, Silver KingXx

“So, you say that your _dear brother_ , who happens to be the masked man Zero, is _not_ a terrorist?” scoffed Mao.

“Yes,” said Nunnally firmly, “a terrorist uses fear and panic to meet their goals.  Zero gains the support of the people to invoke a change in Britannian policies and politics, ergo he’s a revolutionary.”

“It’s not going to matter soon regardless,” said Mao with a smile, “your brother will come to rescue you and I’ll put a bullet through his skull, ending that meddlesome contract he has with my lovely CC.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” said Shirley, “what’s all this talk about having been through this before Nunna?  Do you know this creep from somewhere?”

“It’s a bit complicated,” said Nunnally.

“Then let me make things clear,” said Mao with a grin, “she and her brother are from the future and have lived through all of this before.  In fact, they’re from a future where your _precious_ Lulu became a martyr, taking on all of the world’s hate before committing assisted suicide thanks to Suzaku.  Also, you died.”

“You sick bastard,” spat Nunnally.

“Oh, what a mouth this one has,” sneered Mao, “little girls should mind their manners, lest they get their tongues cut out.”

“You lay one finger on me and my brother will hunt you to the ends of the earth,” said Nunnally, causing Mao to laugh and leave the two girls alone, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Nunna,” said Shirley, “why are you antagonizing him?  He has a Gun!”

“And he knows that if he kills either of us, then he will never get what he really wants,” said Nunnally as she leveled a glare at their captor.

“But what was he talking about when he said that you and Lulu are from the future?” asked Shirley, “He can’t be serious, can he?”

“I’m afraid he is,” sighed Nunnally, “I’m really sorry Shirley, but we didn’t want to pull you into this. Big brother, Kallen, Suzaku and I are all from an alternate timeline where Britannia was defeated and peace was attained, but at a heavy cost.  Apparently, Lelouch was given a second chance and was sent back to Shinjuku, where it all began, and we were pulled along as well.”

“So Lelouch is really Zero?” said Shirley, “He’s really the one that killed Prince Clovis, his own brother?”

“It’s not as simple as that,” sighed Nunnally, “the Shinjuku incident was a result of Clovis ordering the deaths of all the Japanese living in the ghetto to cover up him losing a human subject he had been performing inhumane experiments on.  Lelouch killed him because of that after forcing a cease fire.”

Seeing that her friend from both timelines was becoming distraught, Nunnally reached around the pillar and gripped Shirley’s hand, “Don’t worry, everything will be alright.  Big Brother will storm the gates of Hell if it meant rescuing us.”

“Are you sure?” asked Shirley.

Nunnally smiled, “I would bet my life on it.”

“Isn’t that sweet,” laughed Mao as he walked in, “but you know it’s futile.  I can read your mind and I see the doubt and fear.”

“You seem to think you know everything Mao,” said Nunnally as she glared at him and activated her Geass, “how about answering a few truths of your own.”

“You…how…?!” stammered Mao in surprise as he saw the crest of Geass flash across Nunnally’s eye.

“ _Mao,_ ” said Nunnally, “ _do you know CC’s favorite food?_ ”

“What?” said Mao in surprise as the Geass took hold, “I…don’t.”

“ _Do you know her true wish?_ ” Nunnally asked.

“N-no,” ground out Mao as he tried to fight her Geass.

“ _Where was she born?_ ” asked Nunnally.

“I…d-don’t know!” growled Mao.

“ _Mao, what is her name?_ ” asked Nunnally as she drove the nail home.

“I DON’T KNOW!” yelled Mao as he backhanded Nunnally across the face, “Shut your mouth you little bitch or your friend won’t live to be rescued by her _prince_.”

Mao then stormed out of the room, turning up the volume of the recordings he listened to through his headphones, letting CC’s calming words of encouragement wash over him, soothing his rage.

xXBlack King, Red QueenXx

“Are you sure about this Lelouch?” asked Kallen, “I mean, this plan of yours if pretty risky.”

“It has to be,” said Lelouch, “I can’t take Mao lightly, considering he already knows that I’m from an alternate timeline where he was defeated simply by reading Nunnally’s memories.  Luckily, I have a pretty good idea of how his Geass works from facing him in the previous timeline, so my plan should work.  Just be ready on your end.”

“Don’t worry,” said Kallen, “I won’t mess up, just bring Nunna home safe.  Maybe then we can continue our meal where we left off.”

Lelouch nodded and activated his Geass, “One last thing.”

Lelouch picked up a hand mirror and gazed into his reflected eyes, the Geass sigil emblazoned across one iris, “ _Lelouch vi Britannia, I order you…_ ”

xXSilver King, Black King, Orange Pawn, White BishopXx

About an hour later, Lelouch walked up to the entrance of Clovisland, having taken a taxi to get from Ashford to the Amusement Park, and looked around at the place that, in the current situation, felt so cold and sinister.

“Mao!” called Lelouch, “I know you can hear me.  I’m here.”

“Excellent,” said Mao as he stepped out of the shadows, “but I don’t see my lovely CC anywhere?  I guess you don’t care for your sister as much as you thought.”

“We both know that’s not true,” said Lelouch, “read my mind and you’ll know that she’s waiting at the Pizza Hut down the street.  Give me my sister, and you can have her.  We’ll both go our separate ways.  Kill me or take too long, and she’ll leave, and you’ll spend the rest of your natural life looking in vain for her.”

Mao ground his teeth, but could see in Lelouch’s mind the truth that was there was no trick and CC would leave if they didn’t contact her, so he put aside shooting CC’s current contract bearer for the moment.

“Follow me,” said Mao, “I’ll show you to your friends.”

“Friends?” asked Lelouch suspiciously.  This hadn’t happened last time.

“Oh, so it was only your sister last time?” smirked Mao as he led Lelouch into the park and to the building where, “Well this time around, I managed to snag a bit more.”

As Mao pushed open the metal door of a supply room, Lelouch’s eyes widened as he saw, not only his sister, but Shirley tied to a concrete post.  What filled Lelouch with rage though was the darkening bruise on the side of Nunnally’s face.

“I see you’re getting upset,” said Mao, “well the girl needed to learn to not mouth off about things she knew nothing about.”

“Damn you!” growled Lelouch, but Mao stopped him by pointing a gun at Shirley’s head.

“Since you and your sister have obviously contracted with my precious CC, I can’t kill you without tipping her off, as that would make her leave thanks to your little plan,” said Mao, “but she holds no such luxury, so here’s what will happen.  You will call CC and arrange a time for the two of us to be reunited.  If you try to warn her off or relay a secret message, and I’ll know if you do, I’ll shoot them, starting with the orange haired one.”

Lelouch growled but cooperated and pulled out his cellphone, but before he could dial, a projectile shot through a window that happened to be directly behind the mind reader, shattering the glass before embedding itself into Mao’s back, injecting a paralytic agent into his body that caused him to drop the gun and fall to his knees.  A light seemed to return to Lelouch’s eyes and he walked over, picking up the gun and leveling it between Mao’s eyes.

“Now,” said Lelouch, “I believe we were negotiating terms of surrender.”

“H-how…” Mao manage to make out through the paralysis.

“How was I able to hide my plan from your Geass?” Lelouch finished for him, “Well it wasn’t easy…”

xXBlack King, Red Queen, Black KnightXx

Flash back to when Lelouch had received the call from Mao, and we find Kallen and Lelouch planning as they waited for Sayoko to arrive with CC.

“Mao is dangerous,” said Lelouch, “and any plan I conceive will be revealed to him once he uses his Geass on me.”

“What exactly does his Geass do?” asked Kallen.

“It grants him the ability to read the thoughts of anyone and everyone within a certain radius,” said Lelouch, “and not only does it not require eye contact, but he cannot turn it off, so there is no way to surprise him.  Also, if he suspects something, then he won’t hesitate to kill Nunnally in retaliation.”

“How did you beat him last time?” asked Kallen as she looked over at her boyfriend in concern.

“With help,” said Lelouch, “Suzaku was able to help me take him down and I used my Geass to silence him before CC ended his life.  This time, he’ll be prepared for something like that, and I can’t risk Nunnally’s life.”

“So it sounds like we’ll need to neutralize him without his Geass catching on,” said Kallen.

“Easier than it sounds,” said Lelouch, “unless…”

“I see you’re coming up with a plan,” said Kallen with a smile.

“Indeed,” said Lelouch, “I’ll need the plans for Clovisland, a sniper rifle with a long-range scope, a magazine with paralytic rounds, and a gunner with excellent aim.”

“I believe I shall be able to help with that,” said Sayoko as the Kunoichi walked in with CC, with the immortal Witch munching on a slice of pizza, “I believe I’ll be able to acquire the items you need, and I am a rather good shot as well, Master Lelouch.”

“So, what’s your plan Lelouch?” asked Kallen as she pulled up plans for Clovisland on Lelouch’s laptop and showing them to Lelouch.

“Ok,” said Lelouch, “if Mao is holding Nunnally hostage, then the best place to hide her would be the ride control room in the center of the park, however, that is also the most obvious choice, and therefore the place that he’d expect me to scope out and plan for, therefore his next best option, and the one I’d bet he’d take, would be this supply room near the entrance.  It has one window facing outwards, and that is what we will use.”

Lelouch pulled up a map of the park and the surrounding area, “CC, do you know the maximum range of Mao’s Geass?”

“And why should I tell you any of this?” asked CC with a raised eyebrow.

“Because in this plan I give you one of my credit cards and you get to spend several hours enjoying yourself at Pizza Hut,” said Lelouch in a deadpan.

“…I think I like this plan,” said CC, “his Geass has a maximum range of 500 meters when he isn’t focusing on one person.  When doing so, its range decreases.  Because he can’t turn it off, he needs to rely audio recordings from headphones to drown out the thoughts of others.”

“Right,” said Lelouch as he brought up an abandoned building that was a good 510 meters away from the park, “This building it in a direct line from the window in the supply room.  Sayoko, you’ll be stationed here with a sniper rifle and when you see me take out my phone, you’ll need to fire a paralytic round through the glass into Mao, which should subdue him long enough for me to neutralize him.”

“It’s a sound plan,” said Sayoko, “but how will you keep your opponent from discerning the plan from your mind?”

“I have a plan for that as well,” said Lelouch, “I’ll use my Geass to block off my memories of this entire conversation and planning session until Sayoko shoots Mao.  That will keep him from finding out our plan.”

“I shall head out then,” said Sayoko as she and CC headed out of the room.  CC to get her Pizza, and Sayoko to ger the things they needed.

“Are you sure about this Lelouch?” asked Kallen, “I mean, this plan of yours if pretty risky…”

xXCheckmateXx

“So, you see that you cannot win,” said Lelouch, “the paralytic agent will wear off in three hours, but until then, you will _obey my commands_.”

Mao’s eyes widened in horror before glazing over as Lelouch’s Geass took hold over his mind.

“I was going to be merciful,” said Lelouch, “but you hurt Nunnally and threatened Shirley.  Because of that you will suffer.  _When the paralysis wears off, you will leave this place and never return.  You will wander the earth endlessly.  Each step you take will feel like a thousand burning needles are stabbing into your skin.  Every breath you take will burn your lungs.  Food and drink will taste like ash and dust, but you will not be allowed to take your own life by any means.  You will live your life in eternal torment knowing that it is because you dared to hurt the ones I care about._ ”

Lelouch deactivated his Geass and cut Nunnally and Shirley free from their bonds, before helping his long-time admirer to her feet.

“Can you walk Shirley?” asked Lelouch.

Said orangette nodded, “Lulu, he said all sorts of things about you.  Is it true that you’re Zero?”

“That’s a long and complicated answer,” said Lelouch, “let’s head back to Ashford and I can fill you in.”

Shirley picked up Nunnally, as Lelouch didn’t have the strength or stamina to do so, and the three of them headed to meet up with Sayoko and get back to Ashford.

xXOrange PawnXx

After she was escorted to her dorm room by Sayoko, the orangette found herself lying in bed thinking about what she had just went through and the things that Mao had told her while she was in his captivity.  Was any of it true, or was the madman raving on in order to hurt her with his lies.  As she rolled over in her bed, she wondered what tomorrow would be like, considering that she had gained a deeper understanding of the World beyond the settlement.

As she fell to Morpheus’s power, her last thought was wondering what she would say when she ran into Lelouch again.  As she slept, disjointed images flashed through her mind, causing her to toss and turn as her subconscious continued to dwell on the mountain of revelations that had been thrust upon her.

xXOrange Pawn, Black KingXx

Shirley would get her answers the next day, for as it so happened, it was her and Lelouch’s turn to clean up the classroom and thus she found herself in a somewhat awkward situation as they worked to tidy things up after school.  She didn’t know what to say or if she should even say anything, and so the silence stretched on.  Luckily, Lelouch seemed to notice her distress and decided to address the elephant in the room.

“You’re thinking about what Mao said, aren’t you,” he said, more stating a fact than asking a question.

“Yeah,” said Shirley softly, “I mean, a few days ago, you were just Lelouch, but according to that man, you’re a Prince and a time traveler?  It all seems rather unbelievable.”

“Unfortunately, he was telling the truth,” sighed Lelouch, “but this isn’t really the best place to talk.  Maybe we could head to my place after finishing up here and we’ll go over it more?”

Shirley blushed, considering her crush (she was still working on getting over it) just asked her to come to his home, but shook it off, knowing that, not only was it not anything like what she was fantasizing about, her feelings were unrequited.

“I…I think I’d like to know the truth,” said Shirley.

xXPawn to BishopXx

“So where to begin?” asked Lelouch as he and Shirley sat in the living room of the residence that the Ashford family allowed him and Nunnally to use during their time at the Academy.

“Are you really a prince?” asked Shirley nervously.

“Yes,” said Lelouch, “my name, is Lelouch vi Britannia, former Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire.”

“But that man said you’re Zero,” said Shirley in disbelief, “the man trying to destroy Britannia and the one who killed Prince Clovis.”

“It’s true that I am Zero and that Clovis died by my hand,” said Lelouch, “but there is more to the story.  It began with the death of my mother, the night Nunnally was crippled and lost the use of her legs.  After hearing of the event, I stormed into the throne room and demanded that the Emperor find out who was responsible for an attack on Royalty, but instead, Nunnally were disowned and cast aside to be used as political bargaining chips.  We were sent to Japan and barely survived the beginning of the war as a result.  I swore on that day that I would change the world and build a future for Nunnally to smile in.  Because of that, and several other things, I became the one known as Zero in order to change things.”

“He also said that you and Nunnally were from the future,” said Shirley in a nervous tone, “a future where I was dead…”

Lelouch sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I really didn’t want you to find out like this.  Hell, I didn’t want anyone to find out about this.  Damn Mao.”

“So it’s true,” said Shirley sadly, “how though?  How can you be from the future?”

“It’s a long story,” said Lelouch, “and once you hear it, things will never be the same again.  Are you sure you want to go down this rabbit hole?”

Shirley hesitated for a moment, but nodded her head, “I want to know.  Please help me understand.”

And he did.  Lelouch explained to her about the truth behind Britannia’s plans and how he vanquished his father and mother when they attempted to enact Ragnarök by killing the gods, by using his Geass to force the continued march of time, as opposed to their wish to halt it.  He explained about how a mistake caused the SAZ tragedy and how it drove him to take the pain and hatred of the world upon himself before committing assisted suicide.  He was taking a leap of faith in telling her all this, but she had been through a lot both times because of her connection to him, so maybe he shouldn’t keep her in the dark anymore.  Not after all that has happened to her.

“And that leads us to now,” said Lelouch calmly, “apparently, the gods decided that they owed me a favor and brought me back to the beginning.”

“That’s incredible,” breathed Shirley, her mind reeling from the information she had just been given.

“Now we’ve reached a point where you have to choose,” said Lelouch somberly, knowing that he had to bring this up, “obviously the knowledge you now hold is too dangerous to let run around freely, so I offer you a choice.  Either I use my Geass to erase the memories of what has happened and what you learned, allowing you to continue to life your life as if nothing happened, or, you could join my revolution as a member of the Black Knights.”

“But I’m Britannian?” said Shirley, but she was cut off by Lelouch shaking his head

“And that won’t matter,” said Lelouch, “the Black Knights fight for the good of all people, be they Britannian, Japanese, or anything else.”

“But I’m no good with fighting or tactics,” protested Shirley, “I can barely keep Milly in line and help balance the budget.  What good could I do in the Black Knights?”

“Shirley,” said Lelouch, “there was one time in the previous timeline, when I was faced with an important decision that would play a big factor in deciding the fate of the Chinese Federation and a potential alliance between them and the Black Knights.  No matter who I asked, I didn’t find the answer I needed, so do you know who I called?”

Shirley shook her head and Lelouch smiled kindly, “I called you.  Your advice helped me make the right decision and seal a victory for our cause.  What I’m saying is, that there is always something you could bring to the table.  Heck, you’re an excellent cook, if the lunches you brought to me a few times were any indication, and we’re kind of lacking a good galley officer right at the moment.  If you join up, the job’s yours.”

“I,” began Shirley before she steeled herself, making a decision that would alter the course of destiny, “I’d like to help you achieve your dream of making a better world, Lulu.  I want to help you in whatever way I can.”

Lelouch smiled kindly and extended a hand to his classmate and long-time admirer, “Then I welcome you to the Black Knights.”

 


End file.
